


Beauty among the filth

by Mirzy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Drama, Fluff and Smut, Forced Prostitution, Love at First Sight, M/M, Prostitute akaashi, akaashi has a soft spot for bokuto, and pretty boys, bokuto has a soft spot for arcade games, did i mention side couples for days, implied mental problems, mercenary bokuto, nobody can tell me bokuto wouldnt take a prostitute on a cute date, noones underage, so many gays, straight up murder, the second and first years are early 20s, the third years are mid to late 20s, underground crime au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:33:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6070618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirzy/pseuds/Mirzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akaashi has met some strange men in his line of work, but none stranger than Bokuto Koutarou.</p><p>---</p><p>ok so i watched deadpool a while ago. and then i watched it again and everytime i see how wade meets vanessa (specifically the date) i think about bokuto and akaashi so please excuse this fucking mess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Red Square

**Author's Note:**

> rated HG for hella gay 
> 
> im trash and by reading this it makes you trash by default
> 
>  
> 
> if you find a typo lemme know kay? 
> 
>  
> 
> some introduction at the begining of this chapter basically explaining the AU... it gets funny and sexy i promise.
> 
> Sexy times and mature conversations. im not making light of any of them. Our boys are just a little fucked up in this au

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here's a giant mess that nobody asked for. Enjoy
> 
> Basically an introduction. it gets cute and sexy i promise. 
> 
> nsfw at the end.

A night just like any other. Faces passing, some lingering in his line of sight for longer than the rest. Akaashi Keiji strolled down one of Tokyo's famous "red areas" on his way to tonight's destination. 

A dark , gloomy alley only lit slightly by the street light behind him was his target. A heavy, deep red door standing at the end of the alley. A few _coo's_ of appreciation entered Akaashi's ears as he passed drawing the usual amount of attention from dirty, unruly looking people scattered around the street. 

He knew perfectly well this wasn't the sort of place you would bring your children but it was safe as long as you were here willingly and didn't cause trouble for those around you. The men here had a surprising set of morals, more than happy to coexist peacefully with one another, and even more happy to get rid of anyone who disturbed that peace.

Akaashi has had _troublesome_ potential clients, but there's always someone around to defend him if he honestly needs it. Akaashi didn't doubt any of these people could gut him and leave his body in front of a church but he also knew exactly how to work his way around this specific type of men. And all men for that matter. 

Akaashi stepped forward onto the large red square painted at the foot of the door and opened the heavy metal entrance with a _clunk_ music and the sounds of angry shouting and howls of laughter suddenly spilling from inside.

\----- 

Already inside, sauntering up to the bar with a card in hand was someone who didn't look as dangerous as they were. His bright smile brought a strange sense of comfort to those around him, and an even stronger sense of dread to those who knew him well.

The grey haired mercenary leaned over the polished wooden bar and waved down the tall bartender who, once he made eye contact with the round-eyed merc, smiled in an odd mix of happy and devilish. 

"Ah, back already Bokuto? i was expecting you to take your time with this one" The spiky haired man, Kuroo posed as he moved to stand in front of the other man, drying off a glass as he went. 

Bokuto practically hopped onto the bar stool, shaking his head "Nah i wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. That guy gave me the creeps" he replied, passing the small gold card with a name written on it in black to Kuroo, who took it and inspected the name before placing it in a box behind him. 

"You took care of him though right?" Kuroo turned his head slightly, peering over his shoulder at the man whose fingers were tapping rhythmically on the bar. Bokuto just hummed, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small woven bag, red pooling at the bottom. 

Kuroo looked down at the bag and nonchalantly opened it and glanced inside before tossing the bag into a sink of ice behind him. 

"Gross dude" Kuroo said, opening the till and counting out his pay for the job. Bokuto just chuckled "Hey you always ask for proof right? there's your proof."

He grinned that same bright grin that put people at ease when they were around him. Kuroo sighed, handing Bokuto his money and moved off down the bar preparing drinks for the people that had arrived, still lending an ear to his loud friend as he rambled on about this and that..

Bokuto had been on a hit sent in by a 20 year old girl who was worried her younger brother was in some sort of trouble involving their step father. She was out of town, therefore unable to protect him herself and made the call for some more intimidating help. 

One of Kuroo's assistants Hinata, confirmed the abuse and reported back to Kuroo. Turned out the step father was forcing the brother, and many other children into manual labor. 

Abuse, prostitution and some just being sold off to anyone willing to pay for them. The man was a former human trafficker, however he was hard to keep track of due to how frequently he changed his identity. Whether it was just his name or his face, he was never the same person for too long. The only way he was recognizable was by a tattoo of a crown on his right ring finger. The finger that was now in a bag in the sink. 

Kuroo generally did ask for proof of a job complete, most usually just taking a picture of a bloodied corpse or a comical photo shoot of the hit getting what they deserve. Bokuto was usually the latter, but he also wasn't the type to put up with creeps like the crown finger guy. 

The business Kuroo, and by extension Bokuto, ran was definitely what you would call shady, but the guys that took the jobs weren't all bad. Most them yeah, and all of them did bad things but they had heart where it counted. 

Until a few years back, Kuroo had the same job as Bokuto. Taking very illegal jobs from occasionally anonymous people and following them through without further question. However one day the guy that previously owned this bar owed Kuroo a favor, so he gave Kuroo the bar in exchange for kneecaps that still functioned properly. 

Then Kuroo, not willing to give up his old life _completely_ turned the once quaint bar, into this. People sent in problems they needed solving and Kuroo put names on cards and distributed them to the men and women that came in seeking work. 

Kuroo had known Bokuto for years before they got wrapped up in all of this. Bokuto had accidentally pissed off a gang leader's son and then "accidentally" killed him when the guy came after him. Kuroo helped him cover it up and then a few days later they get offers from rival gangs who apparently thought they were more ruthless than they actually were. 

At that point in their lives anyway. They've both grown up since then, more physically rather than mentally in some ways but grown up nonetheless. 

Running a bar and sorting out hits was a lot for Kuroo to do by himself (since Bokuto had to take more jobs in the beginning so they didn't lose their apartment) so he hired a few people to help him out behind the scenes. 

First there was Kenma, who didn't at all care for the blood and violence but did apparently care for Kuroo. He helped at the bar whenever he could be bothered showing up which relied highly on how persuasive Kuroo could be. When he wasn't out front, he was in the back room with the others, taking calls and letters of hopefuls who want someone to go away. 

Next was Kiyoko who immediately got the bar running up to the standard Kuroo was imagining. She's the unspoken manager of the place, keeping suspicious authorities off their backs and keeping the place running. Gorgeous and tough, the perfect combination. 

A surprising one was Tsukishima, who was mainly there to sort out the hits and how much money each one was worth. He's quick thinking and strategic, but also needlessly sassy and sarcastic. He also didn't care for the violence in the bar but according to Kenma, needed the money Kuroo offered. Not that anyone knew the reason.

After that was Suga, who was honestly a bit of a mother figure in Kuroo's establishment. He worked the bar with Kuroo and offered friendly advice to some of the people that came in. Despite his pretty face and soothing voice, the last person who tried to take advantage of him in anyway ended up with their hand pinned to the bar with a knife. Kuroo would tell him to stop injuring the workers but it's easier to tell them not to piss him off. 

Next was little chibi-chan, Hinata. Kuroo realized soon after beginning his business that not all of the hits were genuine or worth their time. Some were just spoiled children or jealous spouses who wanted to teach someone a petty lesson. 

So he hired what you could call reconnaissance. Guys who could blend into a crowd, stay hidden, and get information on suspicious hits. 

He's a cute, bubbly little thing, hardly what you'd call dangerous and not the face you would expect to see in a place like this one. Bokuto expressed concern over his favorite little worker whenever Kuroo sent him out on a potentially dangerous mission, so did Kuroo, but he was quick enough to go by unnoticed. Sometimes not as efficient or thorough as Kuroo would like but he was good at what he did most of the time. 

Another recon was Noya, even smaller than Hinata but twice as tricky. Yet another cute face that Kuroo felt an instinctive urge to protect, however anyone in their line of work knew messing with Noya meant facing Asahi.

He came along when Noya took the job and Suga decided he could help keep the peace in the bar. He was a scary looking dude but quickly revealed himself to the staff as the big fluffy teddy bear he is. 

He's _rarely_ violent, the only time Kuroo's ever seen him hurt another human in 5 years of working together was a few days after Noya joined and one of the local scumbags had lil' Nishinoya backed up against a wall with a hand on his ass. Kuroo didn't think so much blood could come out of someones mouth without them dying. Bokuto and Tanaka had to pull Asahi off him before he turned the guy's face into mashed potatoes. 

Tanaka was another one there to keep the peace, when he wasn't the one starting the trouble in the first place. He popped up one day out of the blue when some guys were hassling Kiyoko, and then he kept coming back to keep an eye on her so Kuroo decided to hire him as a sort of bouncer. Like what Asahi had turned into. 

So that was their little family that helped get "The Red Square" up and running. More of them joining everyday. They were a tight-knit group, all of them being aware of whats going on in the others lives, who's dating who, who's hungover from the night before, who's not eating properly and everything else. 

The only one who tries-and fails- to seclude themselves being Tsuki. They all lived in the same part of town so they could keep an eye on one another, mostly living in the small, rustic-looking apartment building that Bokuto and Kuroo co owned. 

The explanation for that was back when the two of them were living together, just scraping by on a day to day basis, the old landlord lady kicked the bucket and put "the two sweet young boys on the 3rd floor" in her will. No family, no friends just them.

They had occasionally helped her out moving furniture and carrying groceries in exchange for discounts on the rent but they didn't think they were anything more than noisy teenagers to her. It's crazy how you can have such an impact in someones life without even realising it. 

Despite that, they knew even less about running an apartment building than they did a bar. The only reason it still functions is because Suga and Kiyoko handle the paperwork in exchange for two of the nicer flats.

All of them with the exception of Tsukishima, Hinata and Tanaka live scattered across the building. The ones of them that aren't dating co workers, live with their clueless significant others. 

A perfect example is Suga, who lives with his charming, dad-like fiance, Daichi. He's a volleyball coach for one of the nicer schools in the area, and is completely in the dark in reference to Suga's illicit activities. 

Pretty much the whole staff has met him, he's friendly and helpful, but he's also intelligent, so Suga will no doubt have to own up sooner or later or he may find out himself. 

Another one is Hinata, head over heels in puppy love with his boyfriend Kage..something. Kuroo nor Bokuto had met him, although they've tried to purely out of concern for Shouyo. However he's adamant to keep him away from all the shady things he's involved in.

The only one who's met him is Suga who insists that he's a good guy. All they knew about Hinata's partner was that he currently thinks Hinata is a delivery boy for the post office, and despite it being a lie with obvious faults, they think his partner may be a little slow... either that or unassuming and _very_ trusting. 

Kuroo passed out the last of his drinks and then turned his full attention to Bokuto who was calling him over with a sly grin on his face. 

\----- 

Akaashi slowly sauntered through the main room, hips swaying slightly as he scanned the area.

He glanced over at the tall, goatee'd bouncer who Akaashi theorized looked scarier than he actually was. He has a naturally gentle expression and it seems like he puts on a more threatening one just to look more intimidating in front of patrons that might cause trouble. 

His eyes fell on a grey haired man at the bar, smiling sweetly as he placed a creamy looking shot on a waitresses tray and pointed to the far corner of the room, saying something Akaashi couldn't catch from this distance. 

He looked so happy and alive, in the mental sense, unlike everyone else who either looked drained or angry for whatever reason. Probably had something to do with killing people for a living. Was he a merc? It was hard for him to tell...Akaashi's generally pretty good at finding things out about people just by observing them for a few minutes but it was hard to get anything from him. 

When you're face to face with a murderer you can tell, because most aren't able to hide it. It plays on their conscience everyday of their life, throwing them into guilt. If they aren't mentally prepared for the stress they snap, losing it completely. 

That man didn't show any signs of someone who's taken a life, but maybe that was his angle. Maybe he hid behind a smile to keep himself sane. Or maybe he was a psycho. 

Akaashi glanced around at his surroundings, he is by no means a regular here, he's only been to The Red Square a few times but he knows that it's a round the clock hit man central, posing as a quiet little hidden bar, so anyone who comes here must know that too. The man at the bar is here, in this place, talking to who Akaashi assumes is the owner, so he must be a regular. 

He examined the man's body as he removed his jacket, keeping his eyes on the waitress as she made her way over to the corner booth. 

He's muscular that's for sure, even clearer now he can see his bare arms. Attractive definitely, although not your conventional form of attractiveness. His face and hair reminded Akaashi of that first kid in your high school class who bought himself a motorcycle when everyone else was buying cars, and it made him seem cool and edgy. 

Maybe Akaashi just has low standards, who's to tell.

Examining him further, he looked to be about the same height as the scruffy haired bartender from where he was sitting. His silver dyed hair was drooping slightly, most likely from it being the early hours of the morning and whatever product was keeping it standing was wearing off. 

Akaashi found himself staring at the man's face, a comforting but goofy grin on his face as the waitress reached her destination. He continued to observe the man, memorizing the features of his face and the shape of his body, completely unaware of the ruckus that was about to occur beside him. 

A large, burly, dirty looking man stamped his way over to two equally dirty looking younger men, who actually had their attention on Akaashi as he had been standing beside their table, whistling and attempting to get him to sit with them. 

However Akaashi only noticed them as the large man approached, grabbed one of them by the head and slammed it into the table. 

In an instant, ten maybe fifteen people stood up and gathered around as the two on one fight took place, everyone else stayed seated like they were two seagulls fighting over a chip. 

Akaashi felt hands on his shoulders as he was gently moved back, out of the line of fire. He looked up to see the same bouncer from before moving in to sort out the trouble.

Now at a safe watching distance, Akaashi whipped his head to the grey haired man who was watching the ordeal with a cheeky grin on his face, leaning back on the bar, sipping from a glass that either had vodka or water in it. 

Was this his intention? Why would he want those men to fight? What would he gain from it?

The taller of the two bartenders leaned over and flicked the back of his head, the grey haired man flinched and turned around, pouting with furrowed eyebrows. 

The bartender then walked around the bar, into the main part of the room, directly to the scene of the fight which had died down as soon as the bouncer had gotten involved.

"Alright everyone move aside, coming through" The bartender called out as he made his way through the thinning crowd of filthy individuals. 

He stood out. Like the man at the bar who caused the trouble, he was tidy- appearance wise anyway- appeared hygienic, a clean shave, his clothes were free of dirt, holes and blood unlike the clothing of the customers and he stood tall instead of a hunch. 

The bartender knelt down beside the unconscious male on the floor, Akaashi recognized him as one of the two men who was seated when the big guy approached, the second man was seating a bit aways, nursing his arm. 

The bartender pulled what looked like a small thin mirror out of his jacket pocket and placed it in front the man's nose. The bar went strangely quiet, Akaashi glanced around, puzzled as everyone in the room seemed to be suddenly intrigued.

The troublemaker seemed interested too, His expression changed to a focused one.

A few moments passed before the bartender stood up "Nope. Still breathing. Nobody wins today." he announced, followed by a series of relieved sighs and cheers and disappointed groans. One of the louder 'Urgh' noises came from the shit stirrer. 

Did he want him to die? was that his goal? 

His eyes found the blackboard behind the bar and suddenly it made sense to him. 

A deadpool. These men bet on each others lives for fun. Akaashi wasn't even surprised however seeing the more violent side of the grey haired man made Akaashi more interested than he was before. He intended to find out more about him. 

He strolled up to the bar, the trouble maker now facing the bar again and walked up beside him, close enough so his arm brushed on one of the bulky biceps. 

Once he did, the man glanced at him, as you would when someone touches you unexpectedly, but immediately did a double take, eyes bearing into the side of Akaashi's face. 

He was used to that reaction, he smiled at the sight in his peripheral vision and turned his head to get a closer look at the man. 

He had visible scars on his arms and one just under his jawline, his eyes were basically round and bright gold and wore a gold ring on his right hands middle finger that looked to be shaped like an owls head. 

This was usually the part where they were looking at Akaashi up and down but the man's eyes were pinned to his face, a bemused, sort of pleasantly shocked expression on his face. 

Akaashi was almost flattered. _almost_. Once they made eye contact, the man's expression switched back to that same bright smile, filled to the brim with childlike innocence.

Akaashi thought if he got a better look at his face he would be able to see the cracks in his facade, but so far, nothing. 

"Wow..." The man's voice was just as bright as Akaashi expected it to be "Whats a pretty place like you doing in a guy like this?" he questioned, showing off his ridiculous mannerisms by intentionally misquoting the frequently used pick up line. 

Akaashi bit his lip purposefully as he smiled, grinning at the man "Don't smile at me like that. i saw what you did" he said watching his suspiciously, a playful smile on his lips. 

The other man instantly feigned an innocent face and sat back slightly, pointing at the man who had been left unconscious on the ground "You mean that?" he asked in a convincingly ignorant manner. 

Akaashi's smile went thin as he smiled wider, trying to rouse an explanation from him. "Yes i mean _that_..." he repeated, nodding once, moving closer to the other man. 

The trouble maker swiveled the bar stool so he was facing Akaashi, his legs now brushing the man's knees. "...how did you do that anyway?" he asked with genuine confusion, making the other man smile, motioning with a finger for Akaashi to lean closer.

Akaashi did so, placing one hand beside the other man's forearm on the bar and leaned over his lap. He shuffled closer himself excitedly and put his head next to Akaashi's ear so he could hear him over the music. 

"Heh, well you saw the drink right?" he began, Akaashi nodded and he continued "Well that specific drink is adorably named a 'blowjob', its a little tradition to give it to someone you want to... well y'know" he winked and clicked his tongue and Akaashi looked on, only slightly less confused.

"How did you know he would attack?" The trouble maker snickered and leaned back to look at Akaashi's face again.

"Because masculinity. There's a fragile group of men you've got here. No guy like him would accept that drink from another dude. So i told the waitress to tell him that the guy who's now unconscious said he likes bears" 

Akaashi couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that, standing up straight, keeping his eyes on the seated man "and what about you?" Akaashi continued the playful voice he uses on clients.

The man smiled and shrugged "Nah i don't care about stuff like that. I'm not all that attached to genders and stuff" he waved his hand gesturing that he could go on, but he wont. Surprisingly mature, Akaashi thought, shifting on his feet. 

"So I'm guessing he's your... bet? on that thing" Akaashi pointed over his shoulder to the blackboard covered in names and prices.

"If you're asking me if i bet on him to die next, then yes. I figured I'd try to move it along a bit" The man explained, his expression dampening when he realized his plan didn't actually work.

Akaashi side-eyed him for moment, staring quizzically at the board. He can see there's _quite_ a bit of money pegged on some of these people. He wondered why everyone didn't just take out their own target, or get someone else to do it for them. 

He thought about it for a bit before turning his attention back to the grey haired man "..Wouldn't that be considered cheating?" The man smiled into his drink at the point Akaashi made. "That depends on how you look at it. I'm not the one who attacked him am i? i just persuaded someone else to...." he said with a shrug. 

Akaashi was about to reply when a third voice entered their conversation "Yes it's cheating, and Bokuto knows it." _Bokuto?_

Akaashi turned his head to the source of the voice, it was the bartender from before, back around the side of the bar, preparing a drink as he spoke. 'Bokuto's' grin grew wider, shrugging once again, snickering at the man behind the bar.

Akaashi looked between the two men. It was clear enough that they were friends. Possibly very good friends. The bartender dipped two fingers into Bokuto's drink and flicked the liquid at him. He flinched and narrowed his eyes as he wiped his face, glancing at Akaashi and smiling when he let out a small chuckle. 

The bartenders attention moved to Akaashi and then back to Bokuto. A sly smile reached his face and he leaned back, grabbing a glass. 

"Oh don't mind me" he said stepping back "Just givin' my bro a hard time. I'll leave you alone now" he explained with a deceptively sweet smile aimed at Akaashi which then lost all its sweetness when he winked at Bokuto as he walked away. 

Bokuto sighed out a light laugh and stood up right beside Akaashi. "That was Kuroo, he owns the place" 

Akaashi nodded, not really interested in making friends and took the opportunity to step a little closer so they were just a few inches away from one another. 

When Bokuto stood up straight, Akaashi did have to tilt back his head a bit, especially since they were standing so close. Akaashi was more than happy to spend some time with this one. Cute, friendly and a little bit cheeky, may even have a wild side if he's teased enough~ Of course that all depends on how much money he has.... 

Akaashi was moment away from making his proposal when a sharp shock ran up his back as he felt a harsh grip on his backside. 

The man voiced something foul and Bokuto was ready to protest when Akaashi's hand shot out and grabbed the creeps ring finger closest to him, closing it in a death grip and bending it back. 

The man's knees almost buckled at the sudden burst of pain that shot up his arm, Akaashi only bent it back further "Say the magic word princess" Akaashi ordered, straight faced and seemingly not bothered by what the man did. 

The offender uttered a 'sorry' pathetically and Akaashi bent it back a little more for good measure. At this point Bokuto cut in and gently grabbed Akaashi's wrist and hand, encouraging him let the guy go eventually making Akaashi release his grip. 

"C'mon he's learned his lesson, haven't ya' bud?" the man nodded, nursing his hand before moving on. 

Bokuto put a hand across Akaashi's shoulders, directing him back to the bar, Akaashi lightly took Bokuto's hand and removed it from its spot. "Hands off the merchandise _'bud'_ " 

Akaashi spoke in a half playful, half demanding fashion and Bokuto stared on for a moment before it clicked "Oh... You're a..." Bokuto trailed off, glancing down at the thin strip of Akaashi's stomach that was visible between his shirt and his jeans. 

"You uh.. trade cuddles for money" he finished. Akaashi smiled, almost in disbelief again. How does a guy like him exist in this place? 

"Bad childhood? I bet mine was worse.. Daddy leave town?" He started up again, sounding like he was joking, or taking the piss. Whichever it was, Akaashi could play along too. 

"Daddy left before i was born" he stated, an almost challenging look on his face. "Daddy left before i was conceived" Bokuto spoke into his drink. 

Akaashi had to bite his lip to stop himself from chuckling. He took a few seconds to pick a shitty moment from his pool of shitty moments he calls a life. 

"i was molested." he stated plainly, the challenging stare continuing.

"Me too.." Bokuto shrugged "Uncle." he took another sip. 

" _Uncles_ " Akaashi one-upped, raising his eyebrows at the taller man. 

Bokuto smirked slightly, finishing off his drink and placing the glass beside him "When i was a baby my mom sniffed lines of coke off my head" He responded, prompting Akaashi to fight back.

"I lived in a dirty, two bedroom house with nine other people until i was 15" Akaashi said with a hand on his hip.

Bokuto gasped dramatically "You lived in a house?" Akaashi couldn't stop the smile showing through his pursed lips. Whereas Bokuto didn't even bother hiding how amused he was. 

Were they actually bonding over this? 

"What's your name?" he asked in a softer voice than he was speaking previously. Akaashi held out his hand, for Bokuto to shake "Akaashi Keiji" he said with a smile. 

Bokuto grinned wildly, eyes gazing over Akaashi's face as he took his hand "Bokuto Koutarou" he responded, Akaashi allowing their hands to linger where they were.. 

There was a comfortable silence between them for a few moments, Bokuto's face growing more neutral as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flicked through the notes for a moment before speaking as he pulled the contents of his wallet out and placed it on the bar.

"Well _Akaashi Keiji_. How much do you do for... ¥33,550 yen.. and a manicure gift card?" he held the little pink card in front of his face "Don't ask" he clarified quickly.

Akaashi swore he hasn't laughed this much in one day all his life. Akaashi stepped forward, placing one hand over the money on the counter and the other on Bokuto's chest, feeling the firm muscles under his shirt. 

"I'll give you 49 minutes of _anything you want_ " Akaashi purred and Bokuto's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas, his mouth staying slightly gaped, looking as though he would start drooling. 

"Anything?" he repeated in a daze. Akaashi turned on his heel, money in hand, plucking the gift card from his hand and walked towards the exit, beckoning for Bokuto to follow. 

\------ 

_"you ready for this?"_ Bokuto said softly, his large hands spreading over Akaashi's waist, their faces painfully close. 

Akaashi rose an eyebrow, his hands gripping Bokuto's biceps, an uncertain look in his eyes, his lips twisted to the side in a half smile "i... i guess.." 

He'd certainly never done anything like this with a client before but there's a first time for everything. Bokuto smiled, his eyes still lit with excitement as he pressed his lips against Akaashi's gently.

At that moment the machine behind Akaashi let out a winning siren and Bokuto broke the kiss to stare over Akaashi's shoulder. 

"Pfft. lucky" he muttered as tickets began to pour out of the timing-based game that Bokuto had failed at moments before.

Akaashi glanced behind him as Bokuto bounced over to the ski ball machines excitedly.

It was one of those games where you had to line up the lights with the 'jackpot' sign. In all seriousness, it was most likely rigged so only one every twenty or so people who play it could actually win, but seeing how Bokuto pouted when he lost was adorable. Also how easy it was for Akaashi to cheer him up was even more endearing. 

Who's he kidding, this entire situation is endearing. What sort of guy takes a prostitute on a date to an arcade? did he just want company? who knows.

Akaashi admits he was hoping to end the night by scraping his fingers down that broad back and finding out what his hair feels like bunched up in his fist.... but this is okay too... 

It was clear now to Akaashi that Bokuto came here frequently. After half an hour he now has a large bundle of tickets in his hand as he looked around for another game to play. 

Akaashi had a few but it looked pitiful in comparison. These places weren't really his thing anyway, Akaashi was honestly just enjoying their time together, regardless of the oddities of the situation.

"Anything you wanna play?" he directed at Akaashi who was wondering if Bokuto actually was some sort of psychopath, as he stared at the man with bulging muscles, covered in scars and what he's pretty sure is blood on the back on his shoes, prance around in the games arcade like it was his birthday. 

Akaashi shrugged, his eyes landing on the basketball machines. Bokuto followed his gaze and smiled "Heeeyy~ good choice!".

They made their way over and Bokuto put coins into both machines like he had been doing all night and watched the basketballs drop down "You're going down Akaashi" Bokuto challenged, picking up a ball and throwing it, shooting a goal on the first try. 

Akaashi rose an eyebrow, doing the same and then getting another score immediately after "We'll see about that" feeling strangely competitive all of a sudden. 

Two minutes later, the game siren sounded and the two scores flashed. Akaashi was surprised to find he actually won. Although it was probably due to the fact that Bokuto started staring at him halfway through, he took the victory anyway. 

"Wow you're good at this!" Bokuto chirped and Akaashi laughed with lowkey awkwardness "Stop looking at me like a cured cancer, i just got a sort of decent score" he said as he pointed up to his machines high score that was far higher than his own. 

Bokuto shrugged and put his hands on his hips "Still did better than me..." he murmured as they rounded up their tickets and went to the counter. 

When the girl behind the counter finished counting their tickets, Bokuto immediately pointed at one of the gimmicky belt buckles behind the glass that was literally a big silver owl head.

Akaashi was beginning to sense a theme here. 

Akaashi stared at the shelves with no particular interest in cheap prizes you could buy at a department store for less money than you spent on the games. But to keep Bokuto from twitching apprehensively, he decided on a few key chain trinkets and spent the rest on random candies that took his fancy. 

As they walked away from the counter Akaashi checked the time and then stopped in his tracks "Well Koutarou, your 49 minutes are up." He announced looking up at the other man who looked at his watch and then seemed mildly disappointed.

"Oh." he said rather plainly, not sounding particularly upset. 

He then rummaged through his almost empty wallet and pulled out another card "How much more time do i get for a SmoothieBoost card? one more stamp and you get a free one" he wiggled the card in front of his face like he did with the manicure card. 

Akaashi's cheeks actually hurt from how much he had smiled in the passed hour. He pursed his lips and plucked the card out of his hands. 

"Four minutes" he agreed "and just because ive had so much fun, i'll wait until we're at your apartment before i start the timer" Akaashi slipped the card into his pocket and Bokuto beamed. 

"Great! but what do we do for the other three minutes and thirty seconds?" he smiled as he posed the question and Akaashi glanced to the side in mock contemplation before looking back up into Bokuto's golden eyes "Cuddle?" 

\-------- 

" _Fuck, fffuck ....Ah!~... FUCK!_ " 

Akaashi's breathless moans echoed around the apartment, arching his back against the wall he was pinned to and the mouth against his neck, wrapping his legs tighter around Bokuto's back as the merciless thrusting continued.

Bokuto grabbed one of Akaashi's thighs, pushing it up, over his shoulder, leaning that hand on the wall and kept the other one at his waist.

He slid a calloused hand up Akaashi's pale legs, gripping under his ass to hoist him up and get a better hold on him. Bokuto had noticed about twenty five minutes had passed but Akaashi didnt seem to care so he just kept going at it, pressing his mouth to Akaashi's collarbone, nipping at the skin. 

Akaashi desperately grabbed at Bokuto, feeling his legs begin to tingle and lose feeling. One hand clawing at his shoulder and bicep, the other digging its nails into the forearm under his leg, rolling his hips against the intrusion of his lower half. 

"H-.... _AH_ hah..How much longer... can you keep this up. .?" he managed to moan out something akin to a sentence and Bokuto lifted his head and looked up into the dark haired beauty's eyes. 

"All night?" he voiced hopefully. Akaashi just smiled, feeling further warmth rising to his face and lunged forward, grabbing his face and a handful of his hair, pressing their lips together as Bokuto stumbled back onto the bed, immediately flipping them over so Akaashi's back was against the mattress. 

Bokuto put two firm hands on Akaashi's hips, every thrust forcing a moan out of the younger man. The new position provided a whole new take on Akaashi's most sensitive points, and somehow Bokuto had found them all. Legs trembling and eyes glazed over, Akaashi could feel himself reaching his limit. 

His limbs didn't have any strength left, all he could do was paw helplessly at Bokuto's arms pinned on either side of him and throw his head back, mouth hanging open, spilling out uncontrollable noises. 

Bokuto leaned down, connecting their lips, feeling Akaashi bite down on his bottom lip for one last time before he sped up the pace, pressing his face into the crook of the other man's neck. 

Akaashi let out a strangled cry, his eyes watering and his throat dry, _begging_ for release soon. Akaashi wrapped his arms around Bokuto's shoulders, nails scraping down his back and across his shoulder blades, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt himself coming closer and _closer_. 

After one more well aimed thrust Akaashi's whole body clenched, muscles in his back spasaming as he arched his body, throwing his head back into the mattress, pleasure washing over him. 

Bokuto came shortly after with a shudder, pressing his face more firmly against Akaashi's neck, nails digging into the pale hips. 

They stayed like that for a few moments, Bokuto peppering kisses along Akaashi's jawline, the man underneath him shivering, until Bokuto pulled out, discarded of the condom and flopped onto his back beside the worn out, panting boy. 

Akaashi couldn't even move let alone open his eyes. He felt his whole body relax involuntarily, his vision slowly blackening. The last thing he felt was a warm hand against his face, and lips against his. 


	2. Beauty and the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo's a meddling little fuck here to ruin Akaashi's day.
> 
> Dorks and angst in that order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter here sooner than any of us expected. I just got hella keen to write all of a sudden so i figured i shouldn't waste the opportunity.
> 
> Mentions of abuse and implications of sort of non consensual sex/sexual acts  
> Also i made up a character in 2 minutes specifically so he can be a _giant_ cunt.

Akaashi awoke feeling more relaxed than he'd been in years, more than happily ignoring the dull pain in his hips and the dryness in his throat. It's been quite a while since anyone has fucked him to sleep like that... Akaashi remembered where he was and slowly rolled over, squinting his eyes at the light shining through a gap in the curtains. He realized he had been put under the covers, not remembering ever getting into the bed properly. He glanced to the side and saw that he was alone, it was a funny feeling, he was so used to being the one that left while the other guy was drooling in their sleep. Turns out Koutarou has given him quite a few new experiences. 

He leaned up on his arm, slowly sitting up, his head down to his toes feeling warm and fuzzy from a good nights sleep. His eyes landed on the clock by the bed side. _10:10am_. Akaashi yawned, arching his back, stretching and feeling a satisfying crack in his back and shoulders. He shuffled to the end of the bed, looking around the surprisingly clean room for his clothes, when he couldn't see anything that belonged to him besides from his shoes,he settled for what looked like the shirt Bokuto wore the night before draped over a chair in the corner of the room. He stood up, slipping his arms through the sleeves. 

He paused and stared forward at his own reflection in one the mirror on one of the wardrobe doors. There were dull purple and brown marks covering his shoulders and his thighs, as well as clear nail shaped bruises showing on his hips. Akaashi sighed, slipping the shirt on. He was so riled up last night he had completely forgotten to tell Bokuto not to _damage the goods_. He wasn't someones lover they could mark their territory all over, he was going to have to lay off working until all this has cleared up, or at least find a way to cover it all up. Who wants to see the love marks from another person when you're with someone? 

Akaashi inspected himself lazily in the mirror, the shirt just falling over the upper half of his thighs, the sleeves and chest stretched from accommodating for Bokuto's broad frame. Wearing it gave Akaashi a strange feeling in his chest, one he quickly pushed down. Akaashi admits last night was good, very good, better than he'd had in a long time, but these things aren't meant to last. Bokuto could easily find someone he didn't have to pay for. 

He made his way to the door and opened it immediately being greeted to a sweet smell wafting through the air. He stepped out and glanced down the short hallway the two of them had stumbled down the previous night. Akaashi followed the smell towards the kitchen, which was basically just the corner of the lounge room with a breakfast counter separating them, how flats like this are usually set out. His ears picked up happy humming, and turned his head to see Bokuto, standing in the kitchen, chopping up various fruits and putting them in a bowl. 

He was just wearing grey baggy sweatpants, the same color at the top of his hair, sitting low on his hips. His hair looked slightly damp, as if it had been towel dried, sweeping to one side of his head. He was smiling to himself, humming his little song as he turned on his heel to flip the pancake on the stove top. Akaashi could see a pile of pancakes of varying sizes, shapes and thickness, piled up on a plate, as well as a series of topping set out on the bench. Akaashi rose an eyebrow at the scene in front of him, considering sneaking out the door before he noticed him standing here. But a bit too late, Bokuto glanced up, his eyes going wide, immediately pouting "Awh shit...You're awake? I was gonna bring you breakfast..." The pouting continued as he stared down the tray he was going to set it out on. 

Akaashi just stood there, confused and sort of appalled. Usually at this point, Akaashi's either being rushed out of the house before a spouse gets home, or showered with more money and being begged to stay for a bit longer. He's never actually fallen asleep at a clients house before... He tries to avoid that in case they have rapey or murdery intentions. He's made more than a few exceptions for Bokuto, more than he should have, he let his guard down around a guy who Akaashi's certain is actually some sort of maniac, just because he put on a cute smile. 

Akaashi sighed in exhaustion "Where are my clothes Bokuto." there was no more playfulness in his voice, Bokuto was no longer his customer so he didn't feel a need to put on a happy face, instead letting his face droop to his natural, neutral expression. Bokuto stared at him, eyes not-so-subtly glancing down at Akaashi's body, and turned his attention back to the pancake, lifting it off the pan and onto the pile "I liked it better when you called me Koutarou.." he murmured, turning the stove top off and putting the pan in the sink. Akaashi narrowed his eyes "Answer the question Bokuto" his voice was similar to how you'd speak to a stubborn child and Bokuto just stared at him wordlessly, returning his attention to cooking, before finally answering "They were a little dirty so i figured id be nice and cleaned them for you. They're down in the laundry room now, i'll go get them after breakfast" he explained, pulling three plates out of the cupboard. 

Akaashi eyed the third plate, while he grew steadily more irritated with the guy currently over stepping his bounds. "Right, so you definitely didn't take away my clothes so i couldn't leave or anything..." he drawled sarcastically, hands on his hips and Bokuto just went back to setting the plates "I have no idea what's you're talking about... Now come sit and have some breakfast" he finished off brightly, raising his head to see Akaashi, standing stony-faced, no longer amused by Bokuto's antics. Bokuto's entire exterior seemed to sag, his shoulders drooping as he averted his narrowed eyes, actually managing to look annoyed. Akaashi couldn't care less, he didn't ask him to do any of this and he's not obliged to entertain him anymore. 

"You try to do something nice for someone" he muttered under his breath as he walked around the counter, passed Akaashi and over to the door, picking up a small laundry basket on the way "I'll be back in like, five minutes... Eat something though would ya'? I'm pretty sure if i tapped on your ribs it would make a tune..." He called back, opening the door and closing it behind him. 

It was Akaashi's turn to pout now, furrowing his eyebrows, pulling on the collar of the shirt and looked down at his torso. He admits he's pretty thin but truthfully Akaashi's a bit of a glutton when it comes to food, he just doesn't always get the chance to eat since his rent is so expensive. Akaashi, twisted his lips, getting a nasty feeling at the back of his throat when he thought about his land lord. Plus he does do a lot of walking, which doesn't exactly build muscle... and he doesn't have much free time to work out so.. 

An urge to snoop around caught Akaashi off guard. He wasn't willing to accept that Bokuto was actually just a dorky, arcade-loving simpleton, who occasionally went to one of the most dangerous locations in Tokyo specifically to fuck with the scary-looking patrons. There had to be more to him. Akaashi cursed at himself for being so curious. It's almost gotten him in trouble with clients more than once, and frankly it's against his own morals. He wouldn't like anyone prying into his belongings after all. He had almost talked himself out of being nosy when he recalled a documentary he watched a few months back where a friendly old woman, chopped people up and fed them to her neighbors disguised as party foods. Akaashi knew looks could be deceiving, but could someone really alter their own personality so thoroughly? 

He bit his lip, glancing at the fridge and lowly approached it, placing a hand on the handle. _if there's a severed hand in here or something..._. He opened the door and stared at the contents. There's meat in here alright, ham, chicken, turkey, all pre-sliced from a deli or butchers. There are plastic containers with what looks like leftovers inside them, rice, pasta, possibly a stir-fry, as well as a few different cheeses. There's another jug of water, matching the one that sat on the table by the plates, and a carton of milk as well as a few bottles of juice. he crouched down and opened the crisper drawers down the bottom. Pretty much every fruit and vegetable readily available this season was in the two drawers. Akaashi stepped back, closing the door and opening the freezer. Again, more meat. Akaashi couldn't say he was surprised. He half expected to find bottles of vodka in here but nope. It didn't look like there was a drop of alcohol in this flat. 

He closed the freezer, deducing that Bokuto has the fridge of a 40 year old soccer mom, minus the wine, and looked for somewhere else to cast his attention. The pantry's filled with various snacks like chips and crackers, as well as spices and stocks, suggesting Bokuto actually cooked, which again, wasn't surprising seeing as he lives on his own. Everyone has to learn how to cook sooner or later. There were some canned soups and tunas... nothing out of the ordinary... actually judging by all of this, Bokuto had a very healthy eating habit. He glanced over at one of the side counters and spotted two knife holders, side by side. Okay, he had to admit that was an extensive collection of knives. One of the holders, filled with an array of different brand knives, however the second one all have the same deep red faux wood handles, obviously coming from a large set. There were slices down the middle of each slot so clearly the holders were either very old or the knives were all _very sharp_.

There's a possibility Akaashi was over thinking this. It's only ideal to have sharp knives, its practical actually being able to use them for their intended use. However spotting a empty slot in the red handled holder, looking like it would happily hold a carving knife, kept him on edge. Akaashi moved back up the hallway quickly, conscious that Bokuto could return at any moment. Honestly his immediate opinion of Bokuto was a guy who exercised twice a day, called his grandma once a week and kept contact with people he knew from high school purely out of friendliness. He just didn't see Bokuto as a violent person. Which is exactly why he's so _interesting_ to him. He made his way back to the room beside the bedroom that appeared to be a spare room that was turned into a home gym/storage room. 

When Akaashi got more strict with his observations, there were tiny things that were... off-putting about the apartment. A lack of anything on the walls. No photos of his friends or family, paintings, not even a poster in his room or a clock on the wall. Cracks were evident in the paintwork and spots of mold on the ceiling above the window. There were no curtains, no accents around the place, or personalized belongings that made a home _a home_. In this room there were suitcases, more than one person needed, all the same large size all looking fairly worn through. A selection of heavy looking weights in the corner, the more frequently used ones fading in color around the handles. Akaashi inspected one that's color was fading on the weight end, along one corner, only on one side... _like it had been scrubbed clean?_

There was a pungent smell of sweat in the air, he assumed he was at least right about the 'exercises twice a day' part. The punching bag seemed well used to say the least, battered and torn around the seams and the chain holding it to it's stand. Even though this room had an obvious use it still had an unexplainable eerie feel to it. He squeezed his eyes shut and scratched his head, sighing exasperatedly. He needed to stop stressing about this. It wasn't like he intended to see Bokuto again, unless he paid for another 'session', which judging by his persona was likely. He had speculated last night that he had another regular on his hands, and he's had shady customers before but Bokuto was different. The others announced their illicit activities to the world in an attempt to scare those around them and used people like Akaashi to further their image. Hes been used as an accessory more than once... They paraded around like nobody could touch them and approached Akaashi like he was going to drop to his knees the second he laid eyes on them. Bokuto was... genuinely friendly and _almost_ humble, even though he practically begged for praise and whole heartedly agreed when you gave it to him. Which was no doubt due to a neglected childhood, Bokuto vaguely described to him last night. 

Feeling defeated and rather idiotic, Akaashi slipped back into the kitchen, staring back over at the bench filled with food, his stomach grumbling as if on cue. He headed over to the stool closest to the plate of warm pancakes and the bowl of fruit. A few minutes and three pancakes later, the front door opened. Akaashi turned around with a fork hanging out of his mouth and stared at the person at the door, who certainly wasn't Bokuto. 

"Oh, you're still here huh?" 

Akaashi remembered him from last night. Bokuto mentioned his name.... Kuroo? was it? The man strolled in, closing the door behind him and immediately walked to the kitchen, popping a strawberry into his mouth as he not at all subtly ogled at Akaashi's legs, nodding to himself in a sort of approval. Akaashi remembered the hickeys on his thighs and pulled on the shirt to cover them, a strange heat rising to his face. 

Akaashi was quickly growing uncomfortable, glad he had chosen the right time to cease his snooping. He was fine in Bokuto's apartment for the time being, but if his friends are going to start rocking up to breakfast to meet the whore he spent the night with he'd have to jump out the window. He watched the man out of the corner of his eye, he didn't even seem to mind that Akaashi didn't answer him. Just by looking at him, he seemed relatively normal... then again he runs that dodgy bar and is friends with Bokuto so he didn't have high hopes. Like Bokuto, he wasn't your conventional form of 'attractive' either. His hair was scruffy and unkempt like he'd been sleeping for a week and his eyes had a shifty look to them, but he was still nice to look at. Akaashi was beginning to think he did, in fact have quite low standards. This job will do that to you. 

Akaashi wordlessly returned to his breakfast when Kuroo spoke up suddenly "So you're a hooker right?". The question almost put Akaashi off from how casually he posed it, Akaashi just looked up at the man with a sardonic smile as he continued "I mean, not that Koutarou has any trouble with the rare amount of dates he _actually pursues_ , but you just gave me a feeling.... and i saw him give you money..." He explained with almost an entire pancake stuffed into his mouth. Akaashi nodded, not even trying to pretend he cared about what he was thinking and kept eating. 

He could feel the other man looking at him, he glowered to himself, swallowed what was in his mouth and looked up at the other man with a deadpan expression "What?" his voice was as harsh as his expression but Kuroo seemed unfazed. "He took you on a date didn't he? Where was it? Bowling? Laser tag?" He questioned with a sly smile on his face. Akaashi's face softened whilst thinking about the previous night and dropped his head to look down at his plate 

"Arcade" 

He answered solemnly, Kuroo began snickering "That was my next guess..." his chuckling continued and Akaashi felt somewhat more at ease "..He's a romantic that one." Kuroo's giggling ceased, wiping a tear from his eye. Akaashi looked to the side, sighing "I hope you at least agree that he's being ridiculous" Akaashi mused, picking at the scraps on his plate. Kuroo nodded with a vague smile on his face "Yeah i guess it would be weird to someone who isn't used to it..." Kuroo's smile faded slightly, eyes narrowed in an amused way "Y'know i was a little surprised when i saw him paying you. Bokuto doesn't usually accept offers from prostitutes. You must be pretty persuasive..." 

Akaashi scoffed quietly to himself. Bokuto practically jumped into his hands it was so easy. He didn't have to use any of his tricks he uses on those proud men who think they're better than paying for sex. He was just..... _himself_... Akaashi bit his lip before he lifted a glass of water to his lips, washing down the cakey breakfast "...Either that or he likes you." 

Kuroo waited until Akaashi had a mouth full of water. Akaashi accidentally inhaled and felt the sudden discomfort in his throat causing him to cough and splutter, covering his mouth with his hand. When he looked up Kuroo was standing there with, leaning over the counter with a roll of paper towels in his hand, out stretched towards Akaashi, the sly grin returning in full swing. Akaashi glared at him and snatched the paper roll from him, ripping off a few sheets and drying his hands, face and thighs off as well as part of the counter, still forcing a cough to remove the liquid from his windpipe. "I should have known you'd be just as ridiculous as him.." he groaned, his throat suddenly feeling hoarse, remnants from the previous night barging back into Akaashi's thoughts. 

Kuroo shook his head, taking the roll once Akaashi was finished and returning it to the holder on the wall "Being completely serious i'm afraid. Seems like you were the lucky participant in a night of _The Bokuto special_ " he said, walking back over to the bench and refilling Akaashi's drink with a jug that sat on the bench. "Trust me, he's not the type for one night stands..." Akaashi wasn't hiding his irritated expression. What the hell was this guy doing? Wingmaning a prostitute? Did he really think he was going to get anywhere without the contents of his wallet being involved? Akaashi huffed and turned to Kuroo "Well as flattered as i am that he has a crush on me, i'm afraid there's only one way to get my full attention" Akaashi tapped his finger on the counter, where a small pile of spare change sat. 

Kuroo just walked around him, pacing slowly, Akaashi not bothering to turn around to keep eye contact with him "Joke about it all you like, He'll do it. Over and over again, spending every penny he has on you until you eventually fall head over heels for him..." he practically sang the second half of the sentence, twirling on the spot in exaggeration. "...I mean i get that _you people_ are afraid of having feelings but sometimes you just don't have a choice" Kuroo teased, the tone of his voice begging for Akaashi to argue against what he was saying. 

Akaashi whipped his head around, eyes bearing into Kuroo, who was staring at him provokingly "Oh and i suppose you're an expert on the people Bokuto has sex with?" he said tersely, an unfriendly air settling between them. Kuroo raised and dropped his eyebrows at the statement, his expression going blank "Well yeah, considering i was one of them." Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden statement. Is that what this is about? Is he a jealous ex or something? Akaashi examined the other man carefully, his face vacant and expressionless. Akaashi knew he let his guard down around these people, Kuroo probably had years of practice hiding his emotions behind a wall, other emotions and then another wall. 

Just as Akaashi's paranoia started to set in, a small smirk rose to Kuroo's face, deciding to speak after Akaashi's apparent frightened silence "I'm not jealous and planning your murder if that's what you're thinking about. I'm also not going to kill you if you don't return his feelings so you can relax." he said nonchalantly taking a seat beside Akaashi, who was still a little uncomfortable. What was taking Bokuto so long? "You can take it as more of a warning i guess... Just letting you know you'll probably be seeing a lot more of him unless you skip town. He's also not the type to give up easily. So unless you're okay with flowers on your doorstep i'd make it _very_ clear to him that you aren't interested in him for more than just his dick." 

Akaashi stared at the man beside him with an expression growing gradually more confused. He couldn't be serious could he? they spent one night together. Yeah it was cute and different from what he's used to, and he definitely doesn't usually go overtime without an extra payment just because they hadn't came yet. He already knows he's fucked up by giving into Bokuto's unique brand of charm and making exceptions for him, so all he can do is fix it. So if it's that easy why does he feel bad about potentially hurting a mercenary's feelings.

"Aren't you two supposed to be murderers or something?"he said in exasperation 'Why are you so caught up in romance and crap like that?" Akaashi was confused to the point of frustration. He was actually starting to believe Kuroo and Bokuto were harmless, even though he knew in some part of his brain that wasn't true. Kuroo blinked a few times, staring at Akaashi with the same blank face from before and scratched the side of his face "...I liked the way he smiled when he was talking to you.." 

Akaashi felt heat rise to his face yet again, an uneasy feeling growing in his chest. He was about to ask 'What do you mean' but as if Kuroo read his mind "Bokuto's smiles are all different. He has such a wide range of emotions it's not surprising but the smile he had when he was with you is one i haven't seen in a long time..." He spoke softly, it was strange coming from the man who apparently only started speaking specifically to annoy him. A part of Akaashi wanted him to elaborate, tell him more about Bokuto... the other wanted to get out of this apartment and never see Kuroo or Bokuto again. 

As if on cue, the front door opened again and Bokuto stepped through, the now full laundry basket tucked under one arm. He spotted the two others and paused for a moment before smiling as usual "Ah, hey you two... here's your stuff Akaashi... All nice and clean! Thanks to yours truly!" He announced upon entering, placing the basket on the couch. Akaashi glanced at him before setting his eyes on the laundry, looking like he just threw Akaashi's things in with his own... maybe he was just washing them out of courtesy. 

Akaashi rose an eyebrow at him, Bokuto knowing he wasn't going to receive a thanks for something Akaashi didn't ask him to do and slipped off the stool. "What took you so long?" Akaashi more pointing out his tardiness rather than asking a question as he walked to the basket and picked out his clothes from among Bokuto's. Bokuto had moved so he was standing behind Kuroo, leaning over the other mans shoulder, one hand picking at the fruit bowl and the other lazily running his fingers through Kuroo's scruffy hair, sort of like how you'd scratch a cats head. "I got a phone call." 

The bluntness and lack of specification in his answer made Akaashi suspicious. Especially since Bokuto clearly likes people asking questions about him. Not that it was any of his business anyway, he had no reason to pry. Even though he was mildly frustrated that he was yet to see anything about these two men that was any more threatening than your regular shady looking man or a group of twenty year old's in baggy pants, certainly not the ruthless, bloodthirsty maniacs he expected to run into at The Red Square. When they arrived at this flat last night, Akaashi was fully prepared to find weapons strewn across the room, holes in the walls and blood stains on the silverware. A part of him even thought Bokuto might force him to stay against his will by putting a knife at his throat or something. But even his imagination couldn't bring himself to visualize that scenario. 

The place was as tidy as you would expect in this part of town. Sure it needed a vacuum and there was dust settling on a few surfaces that weren't approached often enough for it to clear, but other than that it was a perfectly healthy living environment. As he'd discovered before, Bokuto didn't appear to have any personal belongings, besides from a volleyball under the coffee table. 

Akaashi collected his things and and went into Bokuto's room to change, stripping off the shirt and laying it where he found it earlier that morning. The first thing he noticed when he slipped his own shirt over his head, was that it smelt like Bokuto. It was Bokuto's laundry detergent but Bokuto nonetheless. 

He sighed, finishing getting changed and grabbed his phone and his wallet, one just now realizing he had three missed messages. 

_8:53am_ **Douche:** ur with me tonight

 _9:24am_ **Douche:** Where do u get off ignoring me aye pumpkin?

 _10:00am_ **Douche:** Change of plans. ur with me now. get here or else.

Akaashi wanted to throw his phone against the wall. He had half the mind to tell Bokuto and Kuroo about his land lord and see what they would do about it... No, he wasn't going to stoop to begging for help. He could handle this on his own. He sighed and swallowed his pride, replying with his best manners. 

_10:45am_ **Keiji:** Sorry, had a clingy client. I'm coming home now. 

That wasn't necessarily a lie... in fact now hes thinking about it, it was more truth than lie. He slid his phone back into his pocket and exited the bedroom, heading back into the kitchen where Bokuto and Kuroo were chatting idly. Bokuto spoke up as soon as Akaashi was in his line of sight "Meanwhile! you two sure can eat! there were ten pancakes when i left, now there's two..." He announced, sounding more impressed rather than upset. Kuroo waved his hand, dismissing what his friend said "Don't look at me, there were only five when i got here" 

Bokuto looked up at Akaashi happily, hands on his hips "Well in that case i'm glad you enjoyed!. You enjoyed it right? huh Akaashi?" Bokuto prodded, awaiting a response. Akaashi rose an eyebrow. There was nothing special about them but they were perfectly edible. Why else would he have eaten half of them? "Yes they were nice." he reply was plain and un-emotive but Bokuto didn't seem to mind that part, grinning broadly at him. Akaashi felt his phone buzz, he pulled it out of his pocket and inhaled a shaky breath at the notification

 _10:47am_ **Douche:** nice excuse. get here now.

Bokuto took a moment to take in Akaashi's appearance before his face went neutral once again "Ah, you're leaving now?" he pointed out with less fuss than Akaashi expected. Akaashi, put his phone away, keeping his expression vacant and just walked to the door "Yes Bokuto, i do actually have a life i need to get back to. However if you want to see me again you know what to do." He said the last part over his shoulder, smiling coyly. He could feel Bokuto's eyes on him as he left the flat. No matter how confusing the mercenary was to Akaashi.... 

He was still better than Meguro Yasha, the land lord of his building, and also the reason for Akaashi's current 'career'. The man who was suitably nicknamed "douche" in his phone. Luckily for Akaashi, Meguro didn't feel the need to search through his phone. Well not his contacts at least. 

**~~~~~**

He first approached Akaashi when he was just seventeen, offering him a job, without specifying the terms of course. Desperate for money at the time, Akaashi had agreed to meet him at the apartment building Akaashi now calls his home. They spoke for a bit, the shady man staying vague about the job, however the second Meguro stated he needed to " _test Akaashi out for himself_ , Akaashi ran from the building as quick as he could, the mans voice echoing behind him...

_"You'll be back."_

Akaashi burst into tears outside of a cafe, curling up on the corner saved for hobos asking for money. Is that really all he was good for now? Was that the sort of person he looked like? A poverty ridden kid whose only redeeming feature was how he moved his hips? He had never even had sex before and that man thought Akaashi could do _that?_. A friendly older waitress had come outside and given him a few napkins to wipe his face and a small hot chocolate, which he didn't accept at first but she insisted. She asked him what was wrong and he just shook his head, not wanted to share his humiliation, not even with a stranger he's unlikely to meet again. 

Eventually, after a while of Akaashi shrinking away from the woman's attempts of comforting him, she let him alone, going back to work. He had a bad habit of doing that... pushing people away even when it was genuine friendliness and not some creep trying to get him to put out. For some reason his brain preferred to wallow in self pity, rejecting any and all attempts of convincing him otherwise. He considered going in and apologizing to the woman, but a part of him couldn't bring himself to exhibit that sort of interaction.

Akaashi was never the person to initiate anything, there was a time in his life when he was so painfully normal you could easily label him as boring, brushing him off like an extra in the background of a movie. He was never the spontaneous friend that suggested wild activities or back talked someone they were at odds with. He was never brave enough to speak his mind or stand up for himself, he never stood against the crowd, feeling more comfortable just blending in rather than making himself known. He surrounded himself with loud, enthusiastic people, living through them because he was too introverted to do it himself. He had people you could refer to has friends but there was always someone they liked more, always someone they thought of before him. Akaashi was okay with this, he was content in his black and white existence, never really asking for more.

He couldn't even fathom selling himself. Handing himself out like a bong at a frat party. From the moment the man suggested it Akaashi was certain he would _never_ agree to it 

But things don't always go your way in life

Akaashi's mother grew ill. _very_ ill. Too ill to continue working. It was gradual but one day it hit her in full swing and she was never the same again. Since Akaashi's mother had to make the choice between feeding her son and giving him an education, Akaashi never got to his senior year, being forced to drop out in his second. His grades were excellent but employers just weren't willing to hire a sixteen year old high school drop out. 

Months passed, Akaashi was rationing food between himself and his quickly worsening mother. They had lost the small unit home they were renting, and spent the two/three times a week they were allowed, at a homeless shelter. because of the high rate of homelessness in Tokyo, there was a rotation system on who could stay there and for how long they could stay there, since it was completely run by volunteers and not the government. One of the men who volunteered there, Takeda, told Akaashi if he gathered up some money himself, he would cover the rest and get the proper treatment for Akaashi's mother in a hospital. Without insurance it wasn't cheap, but Akaashi had no better option. She needed food, she needed medication, and Akaashi couldn't give her either. Not yet, anyway...

He knew he wouldn't be able to get another job. Takeda-san offered to give him a reference but he didn't want to affect his reputation by encouraging him to lie on a homeless kids resumé. Besides, Akaashi knew he had an option. 

He slowly made his way down town, the rain pounding down on top of him matching how he felt inside. He nervously shy'd away from the advances of several men and women as he speed-walked, his head down, hands clasped in front of him, making his way through the red area he would soon find himself in twice a week for the next five years of his life. Heart hammering as he reached the apartment, soaking wet from head to toe. He knocked on the door he had run out of three months ago. He wasn't even sure if the man would remember him, he hoped he would so he wouldn't have to explain why he was there. 

He wanted to run away again. He wanted to turn around, run back to the shelter and curl up next to his mother and cry. The lock clicked. Akaashi's throat tightened, his hands shaking, head half drooped, staring at the door. The door opened and the expression of the man who opened the door quickly turned to a devilishly smug smile, dropping to a seethingly sarcastic-sweet smile that made Akaashi's stomach turn. The man opened the door for Akaashi to step inside. Akaashi fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling the mans gaze on him, he walked up behind him, placing his hands on the young boys hips and leaning down to his ear.

_"I knew you'd come back..."_

Akaashi was biting back tears, squeezing his eyes shut, keeping still as the man looked him up and down... _assessing him_. Finally, he walked around him, standing too close to him for Akaashi's comfort, and put a hand under his chin, forcing him to look up at him. "...Oh you're soaking... Let's get you out of these shall we pumpkin?" He mused, gesturing to his clothes, slipping Akaashi's jacket off his shoulder. 

As the man put his hands under Akaashi's shirt, it was like his brain was caving in on itself, losing all inhibition, his thoughts that begged him to leave, shrinking back into the far corners of his mind. The part of him that hoped he could be more and make his mother proud, slowly fading away. He tried to look at the positive side, knowing that after a few months he would have enough money to pay for his mother to go into a treatment facility, or at worst case, hospice... Takeda-san would help him with the paperwork and she could at least be comfortable for however long she has left. Akaashi calculated that with the money he would earn each...job... if he kept it up for a year and 4 months, he would have more than what Takeda-san suggested. Then he would quit and be able to look after his mother again full-time...

But Meguro had no intentions of letting him leave. He humored Akaashi's adamant behavior. How he said he wouldn't be doing this forever and he was only doing it for his mother's sake. Akaashi never bothered hiding his distaste when Meguro asked for his _company_ , but it only seemed to make the man enjoy it more. It was subtle at first... He gave Akaashi an apartment for free when he first began, then after living there for half a year he raised the rent, slowly but surely raising it to more than what Akaashi makes daily, saying it was 'compensation' as his boss, forcing him to work harder and take more jobs. Offering to lower it for a while if Akaashi entertained him for the evening. It didn't take long for Akaashi to catch on, it was infuriating but there was nothing he could do. 

It took two years to reach his goal, but he got his mother into a care facility. Takeda-san was curious about how he attained the money. The man was sweet, he genuinely cared about people, but he was nosy, and Akaashi wasn't willing to share what he's had to do to help his family. Just as he suspected, Meguro wasn't letting one of his best sources of income just walk out the door. The usually smooth-talking man resorted to threats after his persuasion tactics stopped working on the now, conversation-savvy Akaashi. He'd grown up since that first day. Meguro was both delighted and annoyed, since he didn't fall for the same tricks he once did and could actually turn the tables on him in an argument. So obviously, like any deranged man would, he resorted to violence, verbal and physical. 'Keeping him in line' as he would say. 

It wasn't often he physically hurt him. Couldn't risk damaging the merchandise. However there were times when his gradually growing anger took control and Akaashi got the worst of it. He'd have to take time off work, and pay Meguro out of his savings until he healed. Akaashi had considered just running for it, but Meguro made a habit of informing Akaashi of his 'dangerous friends' who were more than happy to ensure Akaashi was obedient and were even happier to punish him if he stepped out of line. He'd never met these men but he'd seen them, some of them were the rowdier patrons at The Red Square. They were sleazy at best, amounting to the same level of threatening as a gang of egotistical nineteen year old boys, who think that swinging their arms around is the same as knowing how to fight. But they still frightened people with their appearance, and even though Akaashi knew the different between someone who acts tough and someone who actually is tough, he didn't want to get on their bad side. 

**~~~~~**

Three years later, Akaashi was numb to all of it, he had accepted his life for what it was and it had gotten to the point where he didn't have enough motivation to change any of it. He just took the good moments where he could find them. Spending time with his mother, reading and occasionally, the clients like Bokuto. Not that there are many or _any_ clients like Bokuto, but the ones who are decent enough to treat Akaashi like a person. Making his way to that same apartment, Akaashi, opened the door, walking through and looking around for his asshole boss. "I'm back" he called noncommittally, walking down the hallway of the large, modern flat. As he opened the door to Meguro's room, he was met with a sharp pain to his face, feeling his tooth dig into his bottom lip. Shocked but not entirely surprised, he held his face and stared up at the ugly, balding man. "That's for ignoring me." he spat. The man grabbed his arm, dragging him up and into the room. "Get on the bed." 

Akaashi wasn't at all excited to see how he reacted to the hickeys but there was nothing he could do about it now. He just did what he was told and let him do what he liked. 

Just like always. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not a merc/hooker fic unless there's an asshole pimp involved.
> 
> There was less Bokuto in this chapter than i intended oops. More Bokuto coming next time


	3. Butting in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nosy mercs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters today! why? because it was originally one but i decided it was too damn long.
> 
> But I promised more Bokuto, here is more Bokuto, Bokuto ahoy.
> 
> Also minor Bokuroo flashbacks.

Bokuto watched Akaashi as he pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at the screen vacantly. He watched the pale hand move from the back pocket and let his gaze hover for a moment or two, admiring how the other male looked in the outfit he didn't get to see much of in the dark scenery from last night. "Ah, you're leaving now?" he voiced casually, hiding the fact that he was pouting internally. Akaashi put his phone away and Bokuto glanced down again, before Akaashi stated speaking as he walked towards the front door. "Yes Bokuto, i do actually have a life i need to get back to. However if you want to see me again, you know what to do." his voice was so smooth and sultry it made Bokuto's abdomen hurt. He silently looked on as Akaashi opened the door and left without another word. 

Bokuto sighed, as if Akaashi's presence had been suffocating him, flopping his head forward onto the counter. He felt a hand lightly patting his head sympathetically "You're hopeless, you know that right?" Kuroo stated rhetorically and Bokuto just groaned, face still on the counter. Kuroo could read him like a book. A really big book with extra large print on the side of a billboard. That's how easy it was for him. Bokuto lifted his head an inch or two before dropping it again with a dull _thud_ on the bench, repeating the motion until Kuroo slid his hand that was in his hair, under Bokuto's forehead. 

"Of all the people to fall for at first sight, it had to be an emotionally distant, angsty prostitute" Bokuto murmured, lifting his head again, and dropping it onto Kuroo's hand. Kuroo side-eyed his friend, smirking to himself "It there any other kind of prostitute?..." Bokuto scoffed at him, a thin, almost bitter smile on his face. "I haven't told you about our date yet.. he was so... _cute_. Not like he was at the bar. He was just sweet and cute....and a lil' sassy too..." he finished with a change in his tone, like recalling the sass surprised him a second time. 

"Still insist on calling it a date huh? You do remember paying him right? or did you think you spent over ¥33,000 on arcade tokens..." Kuroo leant his head in his other hand, keeping the one under Bokuto's forehead as the grey head dropped it down onto his knuckles again. "I've done it before, i could do it again." He challenged, ignoring the first half of his question, lifting an arm out of his lap and pointing in the direction he guessed Kuroo's face was. 

Bokuto returned his arm to his lap and Kuroo just shook his head "Just do me a favor Kou, don't invest too much of your emotions into that guy. He seems like he has issues of his own that he won't like you meddling in..." Kuroo watched the side of his face as Bokuto turned his head a little, staring up at Kuroo out of the corner of his round eyes. 

"What?" he blinked, clearly with no clue as to what Kuroo was suggesting. 

Kuroo raised an eyebrow "WOw. Bokuto Koutarou..." he mused, feigning a mocking voice "..You claim to love him and you don't even notice the little things about him? I'm appalled." his teasing tone caused Bokuto to return his face to the counter with furrowed eyebrows "I never said i loved him" the grey haired male muttered and Kuroo snickered "Oh that's right my mistake, you've never loved any of your dates have you?"

"None except you." 

Kuroo stilled at the sudden response. There was absolutely no hesitation in Bokuto's voice and he admits, it surprised him. Kuroo sighed, _this idiot..._ lowering his head to rest is on the counter, facing the other who still had his nose squished against his fingers. 

Their relationship was a funny one, but it worked. At one point they were normal teenagers who were just a bit _too_ comfortable around eachother according to their friends, then one day Kuroo had the dumb idea to get shit-faced drunk in their apartment and the even dumber idea to kiss his closest friend. It didn't seem all that dumb at the time since he kissed back, it had happened before. Not heavy making out like it was that night, but just a kiss here and there wasn't that weird to them. 

That is until he woke up the next morning and remembered that he was the only drunk one and Bokuto was completely sober. Which explained why Bokuto was so adamant for Kuroo to keep his clothes on. They had a very long talk that morning. A talk that ended with the two of them deciding they wanted to keep on doing _whatever it was_ they were doing. 

Practically nothing changed between them and everything was perfect, _everything_. You always hear people say "If you want a relationship that works, fall in love with your best friend", but in the end that's precisely what bothered them the most. They were technically together for just over three years, making it official after about a year, but something about it never felt right. 

They were in love without a doubt, you could see it if you saw them sitting together, talking, doing anything at all. They probably could have gone on happily together if they'd stayed blissfully unaware that their attraction to one another was slowly dwindling. Their initial friendship was so close it was like they were dating anyway. The changes were so subtle it was hard for either of them to tell the difference, making them confused and irritated with themselves when they shy'd away from a kiss without really knowing why. Eventually they just gradually faded out of their relationship the same way they faded in, still _extremely_ close obviously, basically the only difference being that they've stopped having sex and calling each other 'bro' unless it was ironic or sarcastic. 

Kuroo smiled, the cold counter warming under his cheek "Okay then Casanova" the sarcasm in his voice was only half intended. Bokuto turned his head back to face him with a noncommittal smile, Kuroo taking the chance to slip his hand out from under him and lightly place it in his hair, fingers stroking the grey-dyed hair. His moods didn't rise and drop as rapidly as they did over _anything_ , only when something was important to him. Kuroo was beginning to see there wasn't going to be any talking him out of this. 

"...What did you mean when you said Keiji had issues?" 

"Who the fuck is Keiji?" 

"Akaashi." 

"Oh!....He told you his first name?" 

"Yep." 

Kuroo gave him a quizzical look, sort of amused by the boy in question, clearly being more prepared to be swept off his feet than he was willing to admit. He moved his arms under him, lifting his head and leaning over the counter on his forearms. "Well how do i explain it... " he hummed to himself, tapping his fingers on the surface "When he was looking at his phone before he left, he made the sort of face you make when you're trying _really_ hard not to make a face." He finished, curling a finger under his lips and his thumb under his chin. 

Bokuto blinked at him, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion. Kuroo quietly grunted and tried to think of a way to rephrase what he had said "I _mean_ , he looked like he was purposefully making his face as vacant as possible so we wouldn't question what he was looking at on his phone" Bokuto lifted his head, putting his chin on the counter "You think there was something on his phone that was bad?" 

Kuroo shrugged, he was only guessing but he was fairly confident in his observations "Maybe he has an estranged boyfriend or a crazy dad or something..." he pondered, tapping on the counter again, eyeing Bokuto's expression quickly change to look somewhat absent. 

"I'm sure he doesn't really have a boyfriend Kou-" 

"I don't care about that! You really think somethings up?" Bokuto sat up and looked as if he was racking his brains trying to see what Kuroo was talking about. The next shrug from Kuroo was far more exasperated " Dude, i don't know. I know less about him than you do!" 

Bokuto sat in silence again. Kuroo didn't like silent Bokuto. It was weird and it made him nervous. It usually meant he was about to do something risky, violent or both. "What i _do_ know, is that he has an 'owly' name and you're essentially a personified owl pun, so some higher power clearly wants you to be together." he chirped, smirking at his friend. However his attempt to lighten his mood didn't go over as well as he had hoped. 

Bokuto stood up and briskly walked to his room, Kuroo watching him, bemused. He returned slipping his arms into a thin white shirt and pulling it over his head and down his torso in one smooth movement. Kuroo was momentarily distracted by the fact that the v-neck shirt was practically see-through, stretched across his broad frame. Kuroo sighed, not complaining but still making a mental note to take him shopping so people didn't mistake _him_ for a hooker. 

He was still wearing sweatpants so it shouldn't be a problem... today.

"I'm going out for a bit" He murmured, stopping by the door and slipping his shoes on. Kuroo's expression paled and immediately shot up to chase him down "Dude, where the hell are you going?" His voiced sounded more exhausted rather than worried, although the concern was definitely there. "At least tell me that much before you go running off." 

Bokuto opened the door and Kuroo took a jump step forward, placing a firm hand on the door, and himself between Bokuto and the exit. Bokuto stared at the road block like it was a mild inconvenience "I already told you. Out." He stated like that answer was actually sufficient. Kuroo narrowed his eyebrows, this is exactly what Kuroo couldn't stand. Because whenever Bokuto got like this, was the only times Kuroo had _no_ idea what was going on in his head. 

Kuroo's face tensed, chewing the inside of his lip, shaking his head in disbelief "No. Don't do this to me again Kou..." he stared down the other man who raised an eyebrow at him, still seemingly unfazed by Kuroo's obvious distress. "Why do you always assume the worst with me?" 

Kuroo clenched his teeth, grabbing the front of Bokuto's shirt and forcing him back with one arm, closing the door with the other as he slammed him against the wall. Bokuto didn't even flinch, keeping eye contact the entire time. They fought from time to time, but they both knew that they would never _physically_ hurt the other, no matter how angry they were or how good a reason they had. 

Kuroo planted a hand heavily on the wall next to Bokuto's head "I don't know. Maybe it's because the last time you left acting like this, you came back to the bar with a knife wound in your shoulder and an _arm_ in your bag. A literal fucking severed arm just _laying_ in your bag like a fucking packed lunch!" he snapped, pulling him off the wall only to push him back again roughly. 

"Not only that. You didn't tell me where you went, you were gone for _days_ not hours and i was left home alone wondering if you were dead or not."

Bokuto raised both his hands defensively "Hey, hey! i was just a surprised to find that in there as you were..-" 

"Shut. up." he asserted exasperatedly "You make stupid fucking decisions when you're fired up. Just because you're more lowkey about it now than you were when we were teenagers, doesn't mean i don't still notice." Kuroo practically hissed and Bokuto looked momentarily startled, glancing all over his friends annoyed face. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds before a small grin reached Bokuto's lips. 

"You're sexy when you're angry" 

"Stop." 

"I can't! you make me all tingly. I might accidentally call you _'daddy'_." 

"Quit deflecting" Kuroo's tone was plainly unamused "Just... talk to me?" the desperation in his voice was clear. Finally, Bokuto's expression softened, sighing and scratching the back of his head. 

Averting his eyes and sagging his shoulders, he let out a deep beathe "Ok, ok..." Bokuto returned his gaze to Kuroo, a now sweet, appreciative smile on his face, eyebrows slightly furrowed. He reached up and placed a hand on the side of the other mans face, running his thumb along the cheekbone in a soothing manner. 

"Im not going to do anything dumb. Ive learned my lesson. I just wanna go check on something." Kuroo's grip on his shirt loosened and he let his arm drop to his side. 

"Check on what?" 

"Akaashi." 

Kuroo relaxed a little, leaning forward to put his forehead on Bokuto's shoulder. "He won't like you prying.."

Bokuto moved his hand to the back of his head "I know. But your observations are right ninety-five percent of the time so i just gotta check... is that ok?" 

Kuroo sighed again for what felt like the fiftieth time before standing up straight and rubbing the back of his own neck "Just...be careful ok you dumbass? Don't rush into it and do something that'll get you or Akaashi hurt. You don't know all the details." Getting a bystander injured in one of their jobs was always a possibility and something they had to stay conscious of 24/7. If someone other than the hit was injured, they didn't get paid, Kuroo made that very clear to the patrons at T.R.S. If it's one of their own, they know how to keep quiet and there's no problem. If it's a hit, they die, simple as that. But they don't have any control over the businessman coming home late from work who happens to stumble on someone getting stabbed in the gut. 

Bokuto mumbled something Kuroo didn't catch, then his face lit up slightly. Kuroo could have sworn his hair almost stood up by itself. "I don't know all the details... " he repeated "But i know someone who could find them out for me." he practically bounced with excitement like it was the best idea he'd ever had. Kuroo wasn't impressed but at least it had distracted him from doing whatever he was planning earlier... 

Bokuto slipped passed him, opening the door again as he tapped on his phone, holding it to his ear. "Hold up, im coming with you." Kuroo called down he hall as he slipped on his shoes. As Kuroo closed the door behind him and locked it, Bokuto could be heard all the way down the hall "Shouyou! Hey lil' man, you busy? Come to the bar, i needa ask you something." 

\------

"..Wait... so is this guy a hit oorrr....?" the energetic red head asked, clearly confused with the task that Bokuto had given him. Bokuto shook his head "Nah nothing like that, i just wanna make sure he's safe." Bokuto responded from where we was seated across from Hinata at one of the booths at the bar. 

Hinata tilted his head, still not catching on "Why don't you just ask him if he's ok or not?" 

"If it were that easy i wouldn't need you would i?" Bokuto quipped and Hinata slumped back a bit. "Lets just _assume_ that he doesn't like me that much and if i were to approach him and ask him about what makes him cry at night, he would probably lie to me." Bokuto finished, keeping an eye on the younger mans face to see if he had caught up. 

Hinata nodded slowly "Oh.. alright gotcha. So what... you want me to follow him around and see what he does on all day?" he clarified and Bokuto gave a single nod "Yes! just make sure he doesn't see you and if, by chance, something dangerous is going on, get out of there and come get me ok?" Hinata nodded and watched Bokuto reach into his jacket

Bokuto fished around in his pocket and pulled out his phone, showing the screen to Hinata "This is him." 

Hinata blushed at the picture. It was a guy sleeping, _naked_ , laying on his back on a bed with the blanket just barely covering his hips. Bokuto took it in the morning before he woke up. He just looked so pretty he didn't want to forget it. 

Hinata averted his gaze instantly "Hnng- I...Uh..." he stammered, fidgeting in his seat. Bokuto kept the phone in his face "C'mon look at it properly... " he spoke impatiently "..here, i'll zoom in on his face.." 

Bokuto did so and Hinata glanced at it out of the corner of his eye cautiously, before his eyes went wide with shock.

Bokuto rose an eyebrow "What? i get that he's pretty but that face is a bit of an exaggeration.." 

Hinata shook his head wildly "No! I know this guy! Akaashi-san! Well... i don't _know_ him but i see him almost every day. He lives in my building!" he exclaimed, moving his eyes to Bokuto "Actually i saw him on my way here... he was just entering the lobby as i was leaving. I held the door open for him..." he recalled, cheeks still a bit pink.

Bokuto was about to leap out of his seat. He reached forward, leaning over the table and grabbed Hinata's face with both hands "I could kiss you! This is perfect! now it doesn't even matter if he sees you all over his apartment building because it's yours too!" the older male was beaming and Hinata looked genuinely bewildered a few seconds into Bokuto's excitement before, he too, began beaming. Always just happy to help that one. 

Kuroo watched the two from behind the bar, narrowing his eyes in exhaustion. If Hinata could actually pull this off without the hooker catching on it would be a miracle. Hinata's good at his job sure, but he's not the most consistent worker. He either does extremely well or fails miserably and needs Bokuto, Tanaka or Asahi to come rescue him. There's no in between. 

The two of them stood up and Bokuto patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. Bokuto had an unwitting ability to motivate people. Kuroo wasn't even entirely sure what it was about him that made it so. I guess he just has one of those auras. "Alright!! Well you good to go?" he smiled down at the recon and the smaller male promptly saluted "Osu!" he replied obediently, heading for the exit. 

"Remember to text me anything relevant 'kay?!" Bokuto called as he left, prompting another salute as the door closed behind him. Bokuto stood there with his hands on his hips, smiling at the door with his chest puffed out like a bird minus the ruffled feathers. Kuroo was leaning over the bar, the exhausted expression continuing. "How well did that work out?! Gotta love that lil' guy" He said appreciatively and Kuroo just scoffed "Oh totally. Nothing gets my heart racing like when a guy sends a stalker after me. He'll be yours within the week..." the drawl of sarcasm was enough to make Bokuto's entire exterior sag, whipping his head around, angrily pouting at him. 

Bokuto turned his nose up, hands returning to his hips as he grinned eyes narrowed like a villain from a spy movie "This is only phase one my dear. If it turns out he really _is_ in some sort of trouble, i get to play superman and rescue my damsel in distress!" he was giddy with delight at this point. Kuroo watched him with amusement on his face. It might work. _maybe_. "What if it turns out he's just a happy, content street prowler who incidentally got a text from his mom saying that she couldn't visit this weekend?" Kuroo posed and Bokuto glared at him. 

"Stop putting holes in my fantasies." 

"But you're so cute when you pout~" 

"Stop." 

\-------

The door slammed shut, the walls shaking from the impact and Akaashi slowly sat up, wincing from the now very apparent pain in his hips. He ignored it as best as he could manage, shuffling to the edge of the bed and slowly readjusted his clothes. He stood in silence for a few minutes swaying, feeling dizzy and light-headed until he heard the distinct noise of the front door slamming closed, before he exited the room and made his way back to his own apartment. Every inch of his body and his mind begging for a three hour long bath.

Before leaving he grabbed a scarf that hung over the hat rack by the door. Meguro never wore it so he wouldn't notice it was gone, Akaashi just needs something to cover the bruises that are slowly coming to the surface around his neck. He's dealt with clients and their more _violent_ kinks before, but Meguro's torturous methods were nothing more than the acts of a lonely, sadistic human. He nursed his neck as he wrapped the woolen scarf gingerly around his shoulders, sill very tender to the touch. He took a quick look at his lip in the reflection of his phone screen, which was split and swelling. 

He groaned internally, hoping he didn't run into anyone on the trip down two floors and across a hallway. He was almost as his room but naturally, his hopes were ignored as he reached into his pocket for his apartment key, his across-the-hall neighbor opened his door and stepped out, raising a hand in blunt greeting, as tactless as ever. "Hel- Good Morning Akaashi-san." Akaashi didn't even have to turn around to recognize the the voice behind the minimalist social skills. He sighed, not wanting to be rude to his friendly neighbors and turned around. 

"Ah, Morning Kageyama-kun. How are you?" He smiled at the younger man who made what Akaashi believed to be a strange attempt as smiling pleasantly in return, instead, looking sort of... constipated. He's by far the most socially inept person Akaashi has ever come into contact with, which is odd considering that his roommate/boyfriend, is a bundle of joy and energy. Then again, it wouldn't be that weird for someone who has a hard time interacting with people to be drawn to someone who it comes naturally to. Opposites attract after all. 

Kageyama nodded once, dropping his arm to his side, his movements swift and immediate like he was talking to a drill sargent. "Very good. I'm well." He paused for a moment "....Are you, also well?" 

Akaashi had to mentally applaud his efforts. This was better than he used to be. He seemed like a nasty, scary guy at one point, but as he soon learned, Kageyama just wasn't very good at the whole 'making friends' thing. He noticed Kageyama's eyes were glancing from his eyes to his lip rather subtly. He unconsciously went to touch his lip but held himself back. _It must be really obvious_.

Though Akaashi knew he wouldn't ask what caused his swollen lip, it was better he didn't let him theorize. He really didnt like the idea of people talking about him. Akaashi's smile continued, no matter how much he really didn't feel like smiling "I am, thank you for asking. I'm also very tired so we'll have to continue this later if you don't mind Kageyama-kun." 

The younger man looked as though he wanted to apologize when a noise could be heard at the end of the hall. A stumbling and a short _"Eep!"_ echoed down the hall, Akaashi turned his head to see a red head of hair duck around the corner. Akaashi rose an eyebrow and glanced at Kageyama, whose eyes had narrowed, glaring down the hall. 

Realizing he'd been spotted, the red-head slowly peered around the corner, smiling rather uneasily at the both of them and waving awkwardly "H-hey again Akaashi-san!" Akaashi smiled politely, waving at the boy who was still down the end of the hallway, his eyes not hiding the obvious confusion. Kageyama had his sights fixed on the other, scowling at his behavior. "Idiot. What are you doing?" 

Hinata briefly sulked, bouncing over, standing beside Kageyama "Sorry! Tobio-chan was doing so well socializing all by himself i didn't want to disturb him." He spoke looking up at Akaashi but had it indirectly aimed at his roommate/boyfriend. Akaashi still wasn't sure what sort of relationship they had, he didn't want to ask. 

Kageyama practically growled, his expression going sour, grimacing at the shorter boy "Dumbass! I can talk to people just fine!" 

"That's not true and you know it." 

Akaashi considered slipping away while they argued, but Hinata's voice caught his attention once more. "Akaashi-san, is it okay if i ask what happened to your lip?" 

He groaned to himself, bringing his hand up to lightly touch it as he came up with an answer on the spot "Ah... Last night someone accidentally elbowed me in the face at a bar... it's fine, it doesn't hurt. I was just about to go put some ice on it..." He gestured back to his room which he very much wanted to go into, but Hinata halted him with his voice yet again. 

"Last night? i didn't see it this morning...?" His questions were posed so innocently, Akaashi didn't doubt he was genuinely confused and concerned but he didn't have the time to deal with this. He bit the inside of his cheek as he searched for an answer "Oh? it happened in the early hours of the morning so i guess it just hadn't swollen up yet..." That was the best he could do, Hinata looked unsure but shrugged after a while, smiling at him "Well as long as you're ok!" He responded brightly, Akaashi nodded, waving them both off as he put the key into his front door and opened the door. "I'm sure i'll see you two later" 

They both said their respective goodbyes, and finally Akaashi was in the privacy of his own home. The only thing that would make it better would be if nobody knew where he lived. Then it would truly be a sanctuary that he could escape to when the world became too much for him. 

He let out a breath he had been holding in and let his exterior relax, locking the door behind him. Still feeling light-headed, he figured it was probably better to take a nap instead of risking fainting in the shower. 

He grabbed an icepack from the freezer and gingerly pressed it to his lip, figuring he would at least try to lessen the swelling before tonight 

He removed various items from his pockets and flopped down onto the faux leather couch, eyes drooping shut immediately. 

He felt himself slowly drifting off, icepack on his face when he was awoken abruptly by his phone threatening to vibrate off the table, the obnoxious call tune ringing im his ears. 

Akaashi groaned as he liften his upper body off the couch, reaching for his phone and flipping it over to see the screen. 

**Douche**

Akaashi considered letting it ring out. However knowing he would only ring again and again he took a deep breath and rolled over onto his back, sliding the 'answer' button across the screen. 

"Hello." He greeted in a noncommittal fashion. 

His 'boss' didn't even bother with the pleasantries, skipping right to the business as always "You have guests tonight" 

Akaashi's face quickly grew irritated "Yeah. i do. _Scheduled clients_ , i cant entertain the pricks you lost a bet with." he scowled down the phone. He knew Akaashi had a full night of regulars on Sundays, high paying regulars to be precise. He heard the man on the other end exhale angrily. 

"Doesn't matter. You're making time for them. My boys have made it clear to me that they've been feeling under appreciated. One of them mentioned you, so i offered them your services." 

Akaashi wanted to scream down the phone. He held himself back... barely. "Tell them to stick their dicks in each other. Im busy." he snapped harshly. Seconds away from hanging up and enduring the consequences later. 

The other line was silent aside from the evident sound of breathing. Akaashi felt his heart hammering. He wondered if he could actually get away with his defiance this time. 

"....Look at it this way pumpkin. Either you agree to meet with them tonight, at a location of my choice, them being held completely under my rules to ensure your safety... OR, i tell the four of them where you live and give them free reign to do whatever the hell they want to you whenever they want. Make your choice." 

He wanted to vomit, his stomach dropped so suddenly it felt like his chest was caving in. He sat up, clawing at the back of the sofa "Y-...you wouldn't..." he challenged, his voice shaking, every inch of him _trembling_. Despite everything, Meguro's taken better care of Akaashi than any of his other 'workers', that must mean something. There's no way he would just toss him to the dogs and walk away. 

Akaashi's heartbeat was so loud he could barely hear the taunting voice of the man on the phone... or at least he wishes he couldn't. 

"Wouldn't i? just because you think you're special?" he could practically hear the smile on his face through his voice "Newsflash. You aren't. I could walk out into the streets, close my eyes, point and find another Keiji in a second... " 

"Then why don't you?" There were tears in his eyes, his grip on the phone tightening, trying desperately not to let his voice waver. 

"Because you're mine..." 

Akaashi couldn't even find the words to argue. He bit down on his sore, swollen lip, the first tear of many rolling down his cheek. "...I can do whatever i like with you because i _own_ you. Think about it, what other options do you have? go back to living on the streets? be forced to pull mother dearest out of the hospital so she can spend the remainder of her sad, short life watching her son sell himself for ¥100 like the whore he is?" 

" _Shut up_ Don't talk about her." his voice cracked as he spoke, trying to scold him but failing due to the sob threatening to breach his lips. The man on the other end only smiled "Then how about you be a good boy and-" Akaashi couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't stand the sound of his voice. He hung up and dropped his phone into his lap, whimpers quickly becoming unrestrained wails, hiccuping in and out of sobs. 

Not twenty seconds later, his phone vibrated once more. He didn't want to look at it. He lowered a shaky hand and grabbed his phone, slowly turning it over to reveal the screen. 

_1:15pm_ **Douche:** Be at room 405 at the Kiba hotel by midnight or u will have more than ur dignity to worry about losing. 

Akaashi's never felt so nauseous. Not since that very first day he ever met the bastard that simultaneously saved and ruined his life. His frustrated scream rang out throughout his apartment, surely his neighbors heard him. He threw his phone at the front door, it colliding with a dull _clunk_ and falling to the ground, landing face down. 

He fell back onto the couch, curling his knees up to his chest until the front of his pants legs were soaked with tears. Akaashi only had so much in his life to look forward to, that's why he made such an effort to enjoy everything good that came his way. And just like that, in a second it was being threatened, completely out of his control. 

Wiping his face, sniffing, sobbing and repeat. After a while he was just staring at his hands, fiddling with his fingers absent-mindedly, nursing a throbbing headache from the onslaught of emotions. He slowly stood up, holding a hand to his forehead and made his way to his bathroom to clean up. 

He took extra care undressing, being careful not to touch his own neck too hard also making an effort to avoid his reflection at all costs. He turned on the tub and watched it as it slowly filled, occasionally moving to even out the temperature. When it was just over half filled, he stepped in, his aching body initial rejecting the heat, but relaxed as soon as his entire body had settled underneath the waterline. 

He turned off the taps and lay back, finding it difficult to get comfortable with his neck in the condition it was, the finger-shaped bruises becoming more apparent. HE eventually found the least painful position and closed his eyes. Letting his mind wander off. 

\---

Twiddling his fingers, running wrinkled fingertips against each other, a sudden sound woke him from his half asleep, meditated state. His eyes snapped open and he listened out into his home, wondering if he had imagined the sound or not. Akaashi placed a hand on either side of the tub and lifted himself out, the sound of dripping water trickling back into the bath was the only thing in his ears. 

He stepped out onto the bathmat and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist and and opening the door to the bathroom, steam escaping out into the hallway and a refreshing waft of cool air hitting him. He peered around the corner, looking up at the clock in the main room _6:35pm_

Akaashi sighed. His first client of the night is at 7:00.... he didn't realize he had been in there for so long. He walked out into the main room, coming to the decision that he really had imagined the noise and scanned the room for his phone. He felt physically better but mentally he's still drained, only vaguely remembering what he had done during his breakdown. 

He glanced over at the door and there it was, face up, a nice new crack across the screen. Akaashi moved cautiously picking it up, hoping it still worked. He doesn't have time to go get it repaired, nor does he have the money to spare on a new screen. He held his breath as he unlocked it and swiped the lockscreen. It opened. Thank god. Not broken

He placed it back down on the table and retreated to his bedroom, mind in a sort of daze. He knew he would go to the hotel tonight. He had to. It wasn't his choice. He had taken the time in the bath to mentally prepare himself for whatever he would have to do to entertain these men. It wouldn't be any different from a normal job...just, three extra people..

Akaashi could feel his stomach turning. He's not a fucking stripper. He wasn't used to group jobs. The most he's ever dealt with at once is two, he had absolutely no idea how to cope with double that. Were they going to take turns or...

Akaashi lurched forward, covering his mouth, feeling bile rising in his throat. _Don't throw up thinking about clients Akaashi, that's rude._

At least the beginning of this day would be somewhat easy. His first client was a girl who wanted a cute date to a friends dinner, or ex friend...a friend she was trying to impress or a boy she was trying to make jealous ...or maybe it was a party with her ex she still liked and his new girlfriend... Easy to say he wasn't paying that much attention when she explained it but Akaashi was fine with it. Free food. 

After that was what he was actually looking forward to. The same sweet old man he saw every Sunday at 9:30pm. When they first met, he told Akaashi he reminded him of his husband when he was his age. He shows him the same picture every time they go out and the similarities are definitely there. The man is old and forgetful, some of their dates are repeats of an earlier one. Akaashi's pretty sure he doesn't remember half of them but it didn't matter. He just liked spending time with him. He also found the way he looked at him to be adorable, because seconds later he would say how much he looked like the love of his life and Akaashi had a soft spot for him. It was precious. 

Next was more what he was used to, A yakuza 'leader' regular who always wanted the same things. He basically spends an hour or so sitting on the guys lap, kissing his neck acting absolutely smitten with him, helping him give off the impression that he's more powerful than he actually is. Like Akaashi was there on his own accord and not because he could buy a car with what he was paying him. But his men didn't know about that part, nor did his various visitors from enemy gangs who came to strike deals with him. He just hoped his client would be okay with him leaving a little early, because he'd have to in order to make it to the Kiba by midnight.

He could wear the same outfit for the first two but he'd have to change into something more...eye-catching, for the last one... He didn't think the guys at the Kiba would care what he was wearing so whatever he wears to the gangs hangout will work fine. 

He rooted through his cupboard for the least hooker-y clothes he owned and threw on a jacket over the top. He remembered the bruises on his neck and hurriedly glanced at the clock, going to the bathroom and grabbing a small tube of concealer, slapping it hastily onto his neck and slipping the tube into his pocket just in case. He organised his belongings and left, heading for the first meeting place of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case you had trouble imagining the picture on Bokuto's phone ~~~ http://faiyuuhi.tumblr.com/post/138772556007/bokutos-lockscreen-for-about-10-minutes-till


	4. Be safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi realizes keeping secrets from mercenaries is harder than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally Bokuto and Akaashi are actually in the same place!  
> also KageHina.
> 
> its a slow burn guys.

\--------

Hinata watched Akaashi turn into his apartment and close the door behind him, hearing it lock upon closing. He would have to tell Bokuto-san about this. He turned his head to see Kageyama, leaning over so his face was level with Hinata's, glaring at him suspiciously. "What are you staring at?" he asked with a somewhat angry pout on his face. 

Hinata leaned forward slightly, poking the other nose with his own nose "Don't be jealous Tobio-chan~, you're pretty too." he chirped and Kageyama averted his eyes and stood up straight, a light blush on his cheeks. "I'm going shopping. I'll see you later." He announced abruptly, turning to walk away. 

"Hey!" 

Kageyama turned around to see Hinata directly behind him, closer than he was before, head tilted back with his eyes closed, lips puckered, standing on the tip of his toes. Kageyama felt the heat rise to his ears, and peered down each end of the hallway to make sure nobody was watching before leaning down and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. He pulled back and nodded at Hinata brightly smiling, the blush still evident on his cheeks before turning on his heel and walking away. 

Hinata waited until he was in the elevator around the corner before he turned his attention to Akaashi's door. He double-checked the hall to ensure it was empty and crouched down by the door, pressing an ear to the painted wood. He sat still for about a minute before there was the sound of a phone going off. He listened carefully to the conversation, Akaashi's voice gradually becoming more stressed and quiet, until he couldn't hear him speaking anymore. 

HInata pressed his ear firmly against the door before a loud _'crack'_ knocked against the door and Hinata fell back in shock, the sudden noise startling him. He bit his tongue to stop himself from yelping in surprise and leant back on his hands for a moment before crawling back to the door, listening for more.

He's crying.

Hinata frowned, pulling out his phone and pulling up Bokuto's message log, speedily texting what he discovered so far. 

_1:15pm_ **Shouyou:** I talked to him just then. He has a split lip that he definitely didnt have when i saw him earlier. it must have happened while i was gone, maybe he knows someone else in the building. I'll find out.

_1:15pm_ **Shouyou:** He's really upset. He was arguing with someone on the phone and now he's crying pretty hard. I could probably hear him from my apartment. 

_1:16pm_ **Shouyou:** I couldn't quite hear what they were talking about. Akaashi-san said something about 'scheduled clients' and then he got upset a bit later. What does Akaashi-san do for a living?

He listened at the door for a bit longer, the crying sounded like it had stopped for now, he returned his attention to his phone 

_1:17pm_ **Shouyou:** he's quiet now... i'll try to get more info 

Hinata stood up onto his toes and peered through the peep hole. He could only see blurred shapes since they aren't two way peep-holes but he could see a couch and a person-shaped blur. 

Hinata's ears picked up the sound of the elevator door ' _dinging_ ' and he stepped back from the door and slipped into his own apartment, closing the door gently. He watched the hallway through the peephole, he could hear two women chatting away, the sound of high heels clicking down the halls, they passed Hinata's door and continued down the hall, stopping a few doors down from Akaashi-san's and continued chatting. 

Hinata huffed, annoyed at the timing and leant against the door, waiting for the women to stop standing in the hall. 

He had resorted to going to the kitchen and getting himself lunch to pass the time, by the time he'd finished, he opened the door and inspected the hallway, seeing it to be empty. He headed back out, peering through the door opposite him once again and saw that the couch was empty. He considered his actions for a moment, checking his phone to see if Bokuto had replied. 

He hadn't 

Hinata stared at his phone. He was so eager to learn about Akaashi-san and he's not replying now? 

He shrugged to himself _He's probably busy_

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an...altered version of a swiss army knife that Noya gave him to help out with his job. It had the usual things like knives of different sizes -of course-, a bottle opener a screwdriver and a couple of other things, and then added on were a couple of things for lockpicking. 

He fumbled with the lock for a few minutes, but eventually got it. If gave him a bit of comfort, he should hope his apartment isn't easy to break into. He slowly opened the door, peering around the open-planned room.

It was the exact same set out as his own apartment just flipped and the hallway looked a little longer. It seemed empty enough, he snuck in, closing the door behind him and stopping right at the door, looking down to see a phone lying face down on the ground by his feet. 

He picked it up and examined the cracked screen, he looked over his shoulder to see a small dent and scratch in the paint on the door. This must have been what hit the door earlier. He eyed his surroundings once more, listening closely for any sounds of movement and returned his gaze to the phone. 

it was open on the call-log screen, the same number filling up all the spaces from today to a week ago. Hinata copied down the number in his own phone and tapped the screen, opening the messages with that number, bringing up the contacts. Judging by the contact name, he assumed Akaashi wasn't fond of them. 

He scrolled up the messages, taking screenshots of what looked like dates and meeting places, most of them for tonight and sending the pictures to his phone and then Bokuto's. He then deleted the screenshots and his own number from the phone before placing the phone back down on the ground. 

He scanned the apartment, it was neat and clean. He walked on his toes up the hallway, a stream of light coming out of the bathroom. He cautiously approached, peering inside through a tiny space where the door wasn't quite closed completely, and saw Akaashi, eyes closed lying in the bath. His eyes widened slightly at the very clear bruises around his neck. Hinata bit his lip, quickly moving passed the doorway and on to the rest of the home. 

He b-lined to the bedroom. The bed was neatly made and clothes were laid out on top of it. There wasn't anything strange about it, nothing out of the ordinary, but then again that's not really what he was looking for. He got why Bokuto was worried about him now. Someone was obviously hurting him. He just needed to figure out who that was so Bokuto could handle the rest. 

His gaze double-taked towards a garbage bag filled with clothes in the corner of the room. Hinata opened it and picked up the light grey shirt, it was stretched and torn, not only that there was a foreign scent coming off it, a crudely strong cologne of sorts. The rest of the clothes in the pile were in a similar condition. Torn and some of them with stains that Hinata didn't want to comment on. 

He pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of the clothes, then opened his conversation with Bokuto again. Still no reply. 

_1:45pm_ **Shouyou:** He has a lot of bruises Bokuto-san. Do you know anything about this? 

_1:45pm_ **Shouyou:** ****he's got a weird throw out bag of clothes that are torn and smelly... thats one of the shirts.

He rooted through the bag as quietly as he could, pulling out a crumpled photo. Hinata flattened out the creases with his fingers and examined the photograph. It was a picture of a woman on a hospital bed, she was sleeping, or unconscious and had quite a few cables sticking out of her nose and arms. He flipped the photo and there was faded writing on the back. It was messy and the reflective surface of the photo was crinkled making it hard to read. 

He slipped the photo into his jacket pocket and closed the bag, glancing around the room one last time before exiting and sneaking back passed the bathroom where Akaashi was laying peacefully. He was back in the main room by the time his phone vibrated in his hand. 

_1:50pm_ **Bokuto-san:** Come back to the bar, i'll meet you there. 

His hand buzzed again 

_1:50pm_ **Bokuto-san:** Thanks Shouyou. 

There was something unsettling about those texts. Bokuto's texts were usually plagued with exclamation points and emoji's but the plain, straightforwardness of these ones was odd to say the least. Hinata shrugged to himself, slipping out of the front door, turning the lock as he left. 

\---------- 

So far, the night had been pleasant. Akaashi has helped a girl win back her ex and gone on another adorable dinner date with his older gentleman. Now. he was back to basics. 

It was an easy job yeah, all he had to do was sit and look pretty. Occassionally get up and draw attention to himself so his client could make a slight of hand... 

Cheat. So he could cheat. 

His client and six other men who he assumed were relevent to this underground world in some way, were playing poker, as they always did. Akaashi just had to look cute and pretend he had absolutely no idea how to play parlor games. When in reality he knew more than his client.

This client was a big winner at these games nights. Not because of luck, or his skill. Because of Akaashi. 

He would sit in his lap and whisper in his ear. Others around the table no doubt thought he was just whispering pleasantries, maybe something dirty. But no, instead he was whispering strategies, who was bluffing, when he should fold and when he should raise. It made Akaashi smile knowing he could wipe the floor with every man at that table if he were playing himself. 

They were taking a short break, chatting casually around the table. Meanwhile Akaashi was behind them, tip toeing barefoot around the pool table, playing with the stick in his hands, nudging balls into the holes or just sweeping them all across the table and watching them bounce. 

He was drawing attention to himself again of course. He didn't have to try very hard considering he wasn't wearing all that much. Just a short-sleeved, long black shirt that doubled as a dress, the bottom tied in a knot at one side so the hem slanted up one of his thighs. 

Bokuto's hickeys actually came in handy, it made the illusion of him actually being his clients lover more realistic. 

One of the men from the table, the one with a large rose tatoo on the side of his neck, who had gotten up to get a drink from the bar, came up behind Akaashi. "Here love, try it like this..." 

The man pressed himself against Akaashi's back, moving the young males arms to hold the pool stick properly amd slowly bent over, pushing Akaashi down as he did. He had to admit, the guy was pretty suave. 

He rested his head on Akaashi's shoulder, his long arms stretching along Akaashi's, lining up the shot. Akaashi pushed his hips back for fun and the man let a short laugh leave his lips, hovering his mouth over Akaashi's jaw as he pulled back his arm and took the shot. 

To Akaashi's surprise it actually went in. Clearly he was better at pool than he was at poker. The man stood up, his hands sliding down Akaashi's waist and Akaashi took his time standing up, faking pure amazment at the shot. "Well aren't we talented?" he spoke just a bit louder than a whisper, peering over his shoulder at the man whose hands were grabbing at his hips. 

He hated admitting it to himself but sometimes he actually _really_ enjoyed this job. He wasn't sure if it was just because over the years he's learned to take good things in small helpings and enjoy them but would it be that bad if he sort of liked being a hooker? He liked the attention, he liked people looking at him with desire in their eyes. Honestly if Meguro wasn't involved, his life would be pretty good. 

The man smirked "Maybe i can teach you more sometime..." 

"If you wanna rent him out, i'll need the money up front." his client called jokingly from the table, a chorus of laughter following. The man laughed along saying that he was considering it before returning to the table, Akaashi's client gesturing for him to come back. 

He lay the stick on the pool table before strolling back over to the group of men and draped himself over his clients lap. They continued chatting as they played, Akaashi watching the game out of the corner of his eye as he peppered kisses along his neck. He pressed his lips against his ear, telling him to call the purple shirts bluff. 

He did and before long he had won another round. Akaashi stood up to lean over the table and sweep the winnings over to their pile. 

Akaashi took a peek at his clients watch; _11:20pm_. He'd have to get going soon. He wasn't excited at all to ruin his pleasant evening but what could he do? _all good things must come to an end i guess..._

It was his clients turn to deal so Akaashi took the honor, shuffling and dealing the cards slowly, feigning incompetance, smiling coyly at the endearing laughs from the men around the table. 

"Are you gonna share where you found this delightful thing or not?" One of the more heavily tatooed men pressed, taking his eyes off Akaashi for a moment to stare down his client. 

The man paying Akaashi's bills laughed, running a hand up his naked thigh. He opened his mouth to answer but a foreign voice answered instead. 

"I'd like to know that too actually.." 

The yakuza men immediately stood, weilding handguns, aiming theor weapons at the owner of the new voice. 

Akaashi whipped his head up, his heart starting to hammer in his chest. There, standing completely unthreatened by the armed men ready to shoot him. Was Bokuto. 

Akaashi blinked in surprise. _When did he get there?_ He was standing right by the table, directly in Akaashi's line of sight. How did he not notice him? How did he get in?

They made eyecontact and Bokuto smiled at him. It was a different smile. A very casual, almost non committed smile but it still seemed bright coming from Bokuto. 

Akaashi did his best not to scowl at the other man, keeping his face neutral. _Was this a coincidence?_ Bokuto eyed the other men with his fingers tapping the pockets of his jeans, waiting for one of them to speak. 

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" One of the men demanded and Bokuto turned his attention to him. "Bokuto! but that's not really important... _However..._ the reason I'm here is a good one."

"Get on with it before i put a cap in your knee" another man spat and Bokuto pouted "Jeez, ever heard of pausing for dramatic effect? you guys are pretty bland and boring for yakuza..." 

The man closest to Bokuto cocked his gun, aiming directly for Bokuto's head. "Talk." 

Bokuto eyed the gun, looking mildly concerned for his well-being before shrugging it off, projecting to the room "Well. initially when i heard a bunch of yakuza leaders, and a few wanabes _pretending_ to be leaders while the real boss is gone, were all meeting up in the same place. I could find out which one of your guys is currently in the boot of my buddies car for thinking he was gonna get away with trying to grab one of my friends..." 

The men shared looks, Akaashi wondered if these men could even keep track of what their subordinates did. Either way they would be held responsible if someone did something idiotic enough to grab a mercenaries attention. 

"...but recently i got another reason to swing by..." he glanced at Akaashi and the other furrowed his eyebrows in pure confusion. _Did he know i was here...?_ Akaashi narrowed his eyes at him as he continued "..So! im gonna start making demands and as long as you all agree this is gonna go well!" 

Akaashi's client scoffed behind him, lowering himself back down onto his seat and pulling Akaashi onto his lap. Bokuto's smile fell almost instantly and Akaashi suddenly wished he wasn't here anymore. 

"I hate to break it to you Pal, but you aren't really in the position to be making demands" he gestured around the room with his own gun and Bokuto shrugged again. He reached into his jacket pocket, a movement that made every man raise their guns to his head, ready to fire. Bokuto raised his other hand above his head in a surrender and continued fishing in his pocket. 

He pulled out a bundle of envelopes, some fatter, bulkier than others and held them up beside his head with his other hand. He smiled brightly, looking directly at the man under Akaashi. "You might wanna look at these." 

No one moved or said a word. Akaashi looked around at the other men, some of them growing weary of what exactly the uninvited guest was doing here. Akaashi felt a tap on his hip. He looked over his shoulder to see his client, nodding his head over to Bokuto, silently telling him to go collect the envelopes. 

Akaashi sighed internally, standing up and walking around the table. As he did, he made eyecontact with Bokuto again, the other man smiling at him like there weren't guns pointed at him. 

Bokuto held the envelopes just out of his reach. Forcing Akaashi to step closer in order to take them. He scowled at the taller man dissapprovingly and took another step forward, taking the envelopes from his hand. 

In a split second, Bokuto grabbed Akaashi's wrist and spun him around so his back was against the mercenaries chest. He pinned an arm around his torso and his other arm, holding his hand with the envelopes in it out to the side of them. 

Akaashi was suddenly in the position to having a room of people pointing their weapons at him. They were aiming at Bokuto but he could easily be caught in the crossfire. Headshots arent as easy as movies make them look.

Akaashi pulled at his arm in Bokuto's grasp but his grip only tightened, the trouble maker side eyeing him with a humorous expression. He pressed his lips to Akaashi's ear "i'm not the one you should be trying to get away from" He whispered, his grip loosened as he spoke, now just lightly holding Akaashi's arm out. 

Akaashi gulped and relaxed as best he could 

"You that confident in your aim buddy?" Bokuto turned his head and spouted tauntingly to one of the men who looked one hundred percent ready to blow his brains out the back of his head. Akaashi's client told him to stand down and he glared at Bokuto, dropping his arm to his side. As did the other men, however they didn't let their guards down. 

Bokuto smiled, nodding appreciatively at their cooperation and stared down Akaashi's client "Can i make demands yet?" 

He was asking for trouble, no, _begging_ for it. You don't talk to yakuza like this unless you have a death wish or a very good plan. Akaashi sort of hoped it was the latter. 

"What do you want punk?" Akaashi's client asked impatiently, eyes locked on Bokuto. 

He slid his hand up Akaashi's wrist, grabbing the envelopes and tossing them onto the table. "Take a look at them first." He gestured to them, turning his attention back to Akaashi, lightly tracing his fingers along his wrist which was still in a light hold. 

Akaashi shuddered at the ticklish sensation, wriggling slightly, not trying to get away but just trying to force his body to resist the somewhat enjoyable feelings. Bokuto's arm around his torso became firmer, his fingers tickling his waist. Akaashi felt less like a hostage and more like he was enduring foreplay. 

"Go ahead. There's one for each of you." he chirped. Akaashi watched them all as they opened their individual envelopes. One by one, each of their faces either turning to shock or rage or both. Foul glares started being aimed at Bokuto who appeared to be enjoying himself. 

"So I'm gonna start making demands and as long as you all cooperate this is all gonna go really well!" He exclaimed, looking around the room expectantly. 

"..And what exactly is stopping us from killing you right now?" The man with the flower on his neck spoke up threateningly, a thin smile on his face. 

This is the part that was worrying Akaashi. He felt somewhat safe with Bokuto. He knew hurting him wasn't on his to-do list, but these other men... Yeah they liked him, but were they willing to let a pain in the ass, with what Akaashi assumed was incriminating evidence, just leave on the off chance Akaashi might get hurt? 

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably as Bokuto responded. "Well buddy, pal, friend, dude, bro... if i don't walk out of this quaint little hideout in one piece then you lovely fellas are gonna have a lot more than my corpse to worry about. Now why don't you gentlemen take a seat?" The playfulness of his tone was even enough to annoy Akaashi, and he wasn't even the one being blackmailed. 

However one of his suspicions were now confirmed. Bokuto didn't come here alone. He knew he wasn't that stupid. Or at least he hoped he wasn't. The jury is still out on that actually.

The flower tattooed man huffed out his nose and sat down, as did the others, all of them concealing the envelopes in one way or another. 

"Cool. Now! First of all..." he released Akaashi's wrist and reached into his jacket again, pulling out a photo and tossing it onto the table as he did before with the envelopes. It landed face up in the middle of the table. 

"I wanna know who he belongs to so i can ask them why they let their boys run around thinking they can hit innocent blondies without consequences?" Bokuto's tone was harsher, clearly determined to get this information from them. "What sort of asshole hits a kid with glasses anyway?" 

The men eyed the picture, none of them moving to look at it closer. All Akaashi could see was a bloody blur, but he supposed that was half the point. 

Bokuto's face grew sterner. "Ok lets try this again. Tell me who he works for, or all of the contents in those envelopes are going to find the billboards of Tokyo quicker than you can piss yourselves" He was outright threatening them now and none of them were taking him for granted anymore.

He hadn't yet proved he was anything more than talk but he was proving to be a nuisance that's for sure. 

Some of the men were visibly uneasy, well to Akaashi anyway. Terrible poker players, the lot of them. The man with the flower tattoo leaned forward slightly, glancing at the picture. He leaned back lighting a cigarette "Think he's mine. Haven't got much to work with though" he said casually, commenting on the state of the man's bloody face in the photo. 

Bokuto looked as though he was hiding his annoyance behind a snarky smile "Oh i was _so_ hoping it would be you.. " the other man smiled back at him, the thin smile clearly not sincere. 

Akaashi shifted uneasily again. Did they know each other?

"The rest of you can go." He stated nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the suave gentleman. The other men attempted to argue but Bokuto just sighed exhaustidly. "None of you would do well in prison. So unless you have plans on sucking a lot of dicks, i suggest you make your way to the back exit" 

Akaashi was more bothered by the foul glares coming in their direction than Bokuto was. But eventually the only ones left in the room was Bokuto, the flower tattoo guy and Akaashi. 

"So what can i do for you?" the man asked in an annoyingly calm fashion. 

Bokuto smiled, only it was bitterly sarcastic and made Akaashi nervous. "Well..." 

In one movement, Bokuto reached behind him and stuck his arm out again in front of him. Gun in hand, pointed directly at the other man.

Once Akaashi noticed it, his heart stopped for a moment and he moved back reflectively, forgetting that Bokuto had him pinned to his chest. 

Bokuto adjusted his grip on Akaashi, moving him to the side just a bit, not restraining him by any means, just holding him, making sure he knew where he was while his eyes were pinned on his target. 

The other man stared on, completely unthreatened just as Bokuto had been before. He brought two fingers to his lips, taking the cigarette and blowing smoke out slowly. "Are we talking now or are you just gonna wave that in my face?" 

Bokuto glared at the man, gradually becoming more agitated. Akaashi gathered that Bokuto wasn't too good at witty comebacks under stress. He guessed that's what Kuroo was for.

"Why are your boys out in the middle of the day in _Tokyo_ trying to grab people off the streets?" He questioned and the other man shrugged, his hands out to either side of him. 

"You're friend must be so cute they couldn't help themselves" He smiled as he answered, not trying to quell Bokuto's anger in the slightest. 

"Tell them to cut it out" Bokuto practically snarled and the other man just shook his head "Or else...? what?" he taunted "What exactly is your plan here... Bokuto? was it?" 

Bokuto's grip on his gun tightened, his face frighteningly serious. Akaashi found himself grabbing Bokuto's hand that was sitting over his stomach just as some sort of reassurance that everything was ok.

He relaxed slightly, still clearly pissed but Akaashi felt the tension behind him fade just a bit. 

The other man continued "Your plan is full of holes I'm afraid. If you were to kill me, like you so obviously want to, what would my men think? Here i am, meeting with the Tokyo prefectures biggest and most dangerous yakuza leaders. If i don't make it back, what do you think will happen?" 

Akaashi was beginning to understand the situation, although he didn't have all the details, he was catching up. 

"All out war, my friend. And gang wars mean increased police presence and you don't want that. Neither of us do." He took another puff of the cigarette, a smug smile littering his expression.

Bokuto was furious at this point but the man wasn't done yet. 

"So why don't you put the gun down, take your friend and leave" It was Akaashi's turn to stare at him and the tattooed man just looked at Akaashi with a sickly sweet face. "Don't look so surprised, it was easy for me to tell you knew each other from how you looked at him when he first revealed himself, gorgeous." 

Akaashi stammered internally, not enjoying _this_ type of attention at all. He glanced up at Bokuto, inhaling nervously and squeezed his hand, turning his head so his nose lightly brushed Bokuto's jaw. 

Bokuto's exterior relaxed and he dropped the gun from it's target, rather hesitantly at first, before dropping it to his side completely. Akaashi sighed with relief, then realizing the other man was still present. 

The man smiled at Bokuto's sudden obedience. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding." he mused sarcastically and Bokuto grunted. 

And with that, he stood up, nodding to the both of them and nonchalantly walked to the same exit as his colleagues. 

Akaashi watched the man leave, so did Bokuto, his heavy breathing not ceasing. He turned around in the now looser hold and looked up at the agitated male. 

"Bokuto, calm down." he said gently 

"I am calm!" Bokuto snapped, causing Akaashi to flinch ever so slightly. Akaashi wasn't sure what he was doing anymore, he had no reason to stay. But everytime he saw Bokuto, he gave him another reason to be intruiged by him. Another reason to want to know more...

He placed his forearms up on Bokuto's shoulders, staring up at him lazily. He caught Bokuto's attention as planned and smiled at him, testing a theory. 

"You were really cool just then, Bokuto." 

His aura changed almost instantly. His eyebrows raising and eyes getting a little wider. 

"Cooler than the yakuza dudes?" 

" _Way_ cooler than the yakuza dudes" 

It wasn't long before Akaashi was met with a blindingly bright smile. Yep. Still cute. 

"Speaking of the yakuza dudes..." his tone was back to normal as the left the meeting place through the front exit. "How did you meet those guys?" Bokuto asked as if he hadn't been close to blowing someones head off just a few minutes ago. 

"One of them was a client." He explained, walking through the door Bokuto held open "Not that last guy just in case you were about to ask" 

He was about to and instead just nodded his head at the confirmation. 

Bokuto laughed "You sure get around don't you? Me and Kuroo were surprised when we found out you were gonna be here.." He stopped speaking. Akaashi was glaring at the side of his head. You could almost see the sweat drop on Bokuto's forehead.

"What do you mean 'when you found out'?" Akaashi spoke slowly and sternly. Bokuto chuckled nervously. 

"....You've been _stalking_ me." Akaashi accused, visibly appalled. 

"Stalking is a harsh word." not even bothering to deny it.

"Yeah. And it's exactly what you've been doing!" 

"Not true at all. I got somebody else to stalk you for me" 

Akaashi wasn't sure whether it was what Bokuto was saying or the annoyingly straight-forward manner he was saying it in that was pissing him off. It was like what he did was a perfectly normal thing to do with your time. Like Akaashi was strange for being upset by it. 

" _Excuse_ me?" He stared up at the man, steadily growing more irritated looking at his naturally vacant expression. 

"Doesn't matter. A thank you would be nice though..." he said slipping his thumbs into his pockets and Akaashi gaped at him in disbelief "You want me to thank you for stalking me?" 

"No. But i'd appreciate one for stopping you from being sold like a trinket." 

_What?_

Akaashi paused. "What do you mean?" he asked wearily, an untrusting look on his face.

Instead of speaking, Bokuto took a few steps forward. Akaashi backed up cautiously, his back hitting the wall and Bokuto closed the gap, raising a hand to his waist. 

Akaashi froze, watching the other man moving his hands up his body. It wasn't groping or just him coping a feel, it was more like he was... looking for something. 

Bokuto slipped an arm around his waist, pulling him off the wall, peering over his shoulder, down his back, his other hand fiddling with the knot on Akaashi's thigh.

Akaashi found himself allowing his body to mold to his touch, surprising himself at how much he liked the way Bokuto held him. He tilted his head back to look at his face, still cautious of the other man but somehow knowing he wasn't in any danger.

"Ah hah! Here it is.." Bokuto announced, feeling like he was untying the knot in Akaashi's shirt. But instead he was picking something out of it. 

Bokuto pulled back, holding something tiny between his finger and his thumb. Akaashi stared at it, bemused. "It's a tracker" Bokuto explained before Akaashi could ask. "The asshole with the flower on his neck? Kegurashi. He's pretty much known for stealing pretty things and selling them off in an illegal auction. That includes people." 

Akaashi stared at it wide eyed as Bokuto dropped it by his feet and brought his foot down on it. A crunch sounding from under his boot. 

"...When i found out he would be at this little meet and greet, i figured you'd be a target, which is why i found a reason to be here tonight."

Akaashi gulped, Bokuto's sincere voice making his chest tight. Why did he care so much about him? Bokuto did all of that just to protect him? 

Akaashi shook his head, blinking back his shock. He didn't need this. He can look after himself. He pushed Bokuto back gently and slipped out of his reach. Bokuto followed him with his eyes. Akaashi sighed, stepping back from the other male. 

"I... look. Thank you for doing this... helping me, but i don't know what you think you're getting out of this..." Akaashi scratched his forearm, staring at the ground in front of him. Groups of teenagers and young adults were buzzing around them, some stumbling drunk and some singing happily. But the space around Akaashi seemed so quiet. Secluded. 

Bokuto just watched him "It wasn't a favor for you to repay Akaashi. i did it because i didn't want you to get hurt." 

_But why?_

"I just wanna make sure you're safe. And i'll do anything to keep you that way." 

Akaashi took a deep breath through his nose, his lips pursed. Subconsciously rubbing his neck, which Bokuto had definitely noticed. 

He had been trying to push back the feelings that arose on that first night since the second he woke up but it was significantly harder with Bokuto standing right there. 

He couldn't even explain it. Nobody has ever had such an affect on him before. It scared him. He didn't even know if he could trust him. Maybe he _could_ help him with Meguro, but the last thing he wanted was to get out from under one maniac to be thrown under another.

At the end of the day, he didn't know anything about Bokuto. How could he be with somebody like that. How could he be with anyone. Who would want to..

A comical siren rang out in front of one of the clubs. People started cheering and laughing. Akaashi glanced over seeing a large red clock with '12:00' flashing. 

Akaashi stopped breathing. He had completely lost track of time. His hands began trembling and he flinched violently when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Akaashi?" Bokuto turned him around, examining his face "Akaashi what's wrong?" he pressed, but Akaashi couldn't speak, his mouth opening but no words forming. His throat felt tight like it was going to close up. 

Bokuto stared at him, concious of the people buzzing around them possibly making him panic more. He spotted a small shop across the street. He backed Akaashi up agaisnt the wall again, out of the flow of people. He started to speak when a younger man about Akaashi's age, bumped into him. 

Bokuto stumbled slightly but kept his balance, catching the drunk and helping him stand up straight. Like every heavily drinking young man, he remarked at the stranger who helped him, commenting on his "sweet pecs" quickly joined by his drunk friends, pretending they weren't all completely wasted. 

Bokuto humoured them for a few moments and waved them off, pointing them towards the closest nightclub. When he looked back towards the wall, Akaashi was gone. 

\--------

Akaashi ran down the street, clumsily swerving passed people striding in the opposite direction. He was panting heavily despite only running for half a minute. He whipped his head around to see if Bokuto was following him. He's certain he slipped away without being noticed. Now he just needs to keep moving. 

He doesn't know how Bokuto knew where he was going to be or who he got to follow him but he wasn't going to let it continue. 

That was one side of him anyway. The other side was so happy that there was a chance Bokuto and his group knew about everything and was just waiting for Akaashi to ask for help. But he couldn't let them. 

Akaashi remembered the picture of his mother that was slid under his door a few days ago. He had no doubt Meguro ordered it to be put there but he had help. There was no way he could have found the hospital and the room unless someone else found them for him. He couldn't risk her getting into trouble. If Akaashi tried anything, she's the first one under thr knife. 

He slowed to a quick walking pace, luckily the yakuza meet was only a few blocks from the Kiba so he could get there within five minutes. He just hoped his 'clients' were either drunk or patient. 

He reached the Kiba and immediately headed for the elevator, it wasn't the fanciest of hotels by any means so security wasn't tight. No doubt why it was chosen. 

The elevator music almost seemed taunting. The silence was no good for Akaashi's raging thoughts. 

_What if Meguro has already told them where he lives? what if this was just one big trick to get rid of him?_

He practically had to force himself off the elevator wall when it reached his floor. His hands trembling, his teeth chattering... He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. It was a bluff, just like in poker. He just wanted to scare him. He would never ditch him.

Akaashi's too good at his job.

_I could have brought Bokuto with me. He probably could have done something._

He shook the thought from his head. It was too late for that now anyway. He reached room 405 and took one more deep breath before opening the door. 

As he opened the door, a smell of booze wafted into the air outside the room, but there was something else too. Like iron... a metallic smell that felt like it was sitting on his tongue, like he had just licked a copper coin. 

Once the door was open as far as it could go, he saw the source. His eyes went wide and his mouth went dry, the trembling he'd managed to control, now coming back in full swing. 

There were the four men we was here to meet. One of them was on the bed, the second was on the couch, the third was in the bathroom and the fourth was hanging from the ceiling fan. 

Akaashi's felt faint, stumbling back on his feet, falling back onto his rear just outside the room. 

Screaming.


	5. The cause and the results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened at the hotel?  
> Nobody knows the full story...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo sorry about the wait on this one ^_^; I've been fighting an illness that literally lasted all of april/june...  
> and the rest is pure laziness and i apologize  
> I'm all better now though.  
> Comments give me life you guys. I love it all. asking questions, compliments... pointing out typos.... bring em on :')

_Blood is funny, if there's enough of it, you can almost **taste** it in the air. The metallic smell of iron, how it sits at the back of your tongue like a blood nose. He adjusted his gloves, staring down at the man whimpering on the floor, arm twisted in a sickening way, crawling desperately towards the door. He raised an eyebrow at the man, amused at his pathetic attempt at escaping. He strolled over to the battered man, placing a foot on the back of his head, pushing it down slowly, reveling in the sound of his cries as he saw the end of the road. The poor man knew he wasn't leaving the room, ever. Not until after he was cold anyway. _

_"Where do you think you're going buddy?"_

_He reached down and grabbed the man's tie, sliding it around so it was backwards, holding the man's head up like a dog on a leash._

_"Get up." the eerie voice said, sending terrified shivers down the man's spine. He was happy, you could hear the smile in his voice, the sadistic laugh at his lips. The broken body of the sinful man stumbled upright, simultaneously being dragged backwards towards the center of the room. The voice spoke again, too bright for a man capable of such things. "Grab that chair for me would you?" gloved hands still tugging at the tie playfully. The man, as if in a trance, head hanging, eyes wide, did as he was told in what he knew were his final moments. The life torn from him in more ways than one._

_"Put it right there in front of you." the voice smiled over his shoulder, all around him, bouncing off the walls, inside his head..._

_The man did as he was told._

_"Stand up on it."_

_The man did as he was told._

_He stood up on it as well, the wooden chair creaking under the weight as he crudely pulled the man closer to him, mocking him lecherously as the man had done to others in his life. Was this karma? Was this karma's human form?_

 _He smiled at the man in what was almost a convincing sympathetic look, but there was no sympathy, in fact there was nothing. Nothing human behind that smile at all._

_He put his arms above the man's head, knotting the tie to the fan directly above their heads. He lowered his arms, holding the man's face in his hands, the gloves warm, but the eyes staring at him so coldly. The eyes showed what he truly felt, behind the hair-raising smile, the eyes were what showed the emotions he didn't speak. He placed a short kiss on the man's forehead before stepping down, the maddening eyes staring into his soul, unblinking, unkind..._

_Without wasting another moment, He kicked the chair out from underneath the man, the body gurgling, scratching at his treacherous neck, limbs spasaming and convulsing. Until they finally went limp, swaying gently, swaying, swaying. Like a kite caught in a tree._

_...heartless_

**\---**

Akaashi stumbled away from the doorway, an unintentional scream erupting from his throat as he fell backwards, scrambling back against the opposite wall. His head was spinning, his stomach lurching, every inch of him shaking.... his wide eyes pinned on the pool of blood forming beside the slightly disheveled bed. The dull creaking of the ceiling fan caught his attention as it _slowly_ span under the weight of the an hanging from it. His mind was foggy, like it was threatening to go blank any second. Akaashi swallowed back the bile in his throat and gasped for air, his numb, trembling fingers grasping at the phone in his pocket, teeth chattering as he called the only person he could think of at the present time. The ringing span around his head, the repetitive noise working its way into his brain, temporarily dulling his focus on the scene before him. 

The ringing came to a halt "Not backing out are you pumpkin?" Meguro spoke as soon as he answered, Akaashi mouthed what he wanted to say, but nothing came out, he could only manage shallow panting down the line. The other mans voice grew impatient "What's your problem?" he asked curtly, no hint of worry in his voice.

Akaashi stammered as he finally found his voice. "D-dead. They're dea....d" his weak voice squeaked and he clenched his teeth to cease the chattering. 

Only breathing could be heard on the other end for a moment "What?... are you talking about?" His voice was harsh and free of any form of concern. Akaashi let frustrated tears run down his face, his face growing hot, head pounding painfully. He attempted to regain his composure before he spoke again. "The- The four of them...They're dead. I got here. i opened the door, and....and-" he was cut short when a sob escaped his throat. He didn't know who the men were, he knew hardly anything about them, he wasn't sad about their deaths considering what they'd be doing if they were alive. But seeing their corpses...seeing their lifeless bodies strewn around the room like dolls, bloody and broken. It made Akaashi's heart ache. 

Only a monster could have done this. 

The man breathed heavily down the phone, Akaashi could almost hear the cogs in his brain working. "Who knew you were going to be there besides from me?" He demanded. Akaashi felt a knot in his throat, he tried to gulp it away but it just made it harder to breathe, he responded quickly shaking his head "I didn't tell anyone!" he tried to sound assertive but his voice was barely a whimper, breaking halfway through the claim. He was about to continue when a few people came down the hall, spotting Akaashi. There didn't appear to be anyone else on this floor of rooms but the ones from above and below must have heard his scream earlier and eventually decided to cautiously investigate. The scene quickly became rowdier as people saw what Akaashi had seen, some immediately calling the police, others running away, one kneeling beside Akaashi and asking him questions he just couldn't hear through his heart thumping in his ears.

Meguro, no doubt hearing the commotion on the other end, began spouting orders, Akaashi just sat their and nodded to himself as the man listed his future actions. 

He groaned angrily "Do no. Say. A word. To _anyone_. When the police come, play dumb, you don't know who was in that room, you don't know _anything_. You were just walking passed and you found them ok?" He ordered harshly, not to assist Akaashi but to save his own skin. "I booked room 412 down the hall under 'Ishida' because i was staying there today, if the police ask, tell them you're staying in there with your boyfriend or whatever, i don't care, make up a believable story." Akaashi just whispered a barely audible 'okay' before moving to hang up. The other mans voice stopped him. 

"If anything gets traced back to me, don't think i won't throw you under the bus. Figuratively or literally, your choice. I'll contact you in a few days." 

The line went dead and Akaashi let his arm drop to his side, his phone bouncing a few inches away. 

**\---**

~ _Earlier_ ~

Bokuto made Kuroo uneasy for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes it was just fearing he would say something stupid and blow their cover in delicate situations, other times it was fearing that he was going to snap and kill someone. This was unfortunately the latter. Kuroo skeptically watched his friend from across the bar, He was sitting off the side of a booth, elbows on his knees, phone in his hands between his legs. He was staring at the screen with a stony expression, eyebrow twitching. Kuroo was certain it had something to do with the hooker and Chibi-chan had discovered something juicy. Maybe juicy wasn't the right word. 

The redhead had left almost an hour, Kuroo was in an anxious mood for a varying amount of reasons and Hinata wasn't helping. A problem with sending the recons out was that Kuroo couldn't send them a 'You ok?' message without the chance of risking their safety where their phone goes off while they're in a dangerous situation. He figured he was safe but he had a right to be paranoid. Suga was equally as bothered by both Bokuto and Kuroo's outer exterior, wearily watching them as he wiped down the bar, preparing for the pub to open at night. Noya bounced through, ignoring the three of them completely, leaping over the bar and running into the back room where Kiyoko was sitting with Kenma, Tanaka also hovering around her, submitting to her every will, not that she asked for much, if anything. 

Kenma was relatively annoyed with Kuroo for coddling him all morning, so he was keeping his distance more than usual. Kuroo couldn't help it, something dodgy was going on and he couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty rising around him. He glanced at the side door the employees used impatiently. Tsukishima hadn't come into work. He was usually so punctual despite the fact that he seemed to generally dislike all of them, so his absence made Kuroo nervous. He tapped his foot eagerly, hoping the tall, angsty blond would just walk through the door so he had less to worry about. He checked his phone, hoping he had gotten an update from Yaku or Yamamoto, two informants from an independent group that Kuroo works with on occasion. He asked them to keep an eye on the streets for any strange behavior, as well as keep watch for Tsukishima. 

Kuroo stood and walked over to Bokuto, who was still staring at his phone, which every now and then, buzzed in his hands. He sat up on the table beside his silver haired companion and glanced down at him, looking at the screen of his phone over his shoulder. It was open on Chibi-chan's messages, he seemed to be giving Bokuto an update every ten minutes or so. Kuroo leaned closer and peered at the screenshots that were just sent. They looked like they were of a different conversation from a phone that wasn't Hinata's... how did he get his hands on those? 

Bokuto read the messages and stared on in confusion, glancing behind him at Kuroo, wordlessly asking him to give his opinion. Kuroo shrugged absentmindedly "They look like times and meeting places... i'll get Kenma to run them up, see if they match anything else we've heard around the place." Bokuto nodded and turned back to his phone. "Chibi-chan find anything out?" Kuroo was more than a little curious, he didn't necessarily care about Akaashi, but Bokuto did, so he didn't see many more options rather than helping him. Bokuto sat up a bit, putting his phone beside him on the table next to Kuroo. 

"Someone's hurting him." the was an ominous undertone to his words, it was no doubt frustrating him that he didn't know anything more than that. 

"By 'him' i assume you mean your hooker princess. How do you know?" Kuroo queried, tapping his fingers on the table as he waited for a response. "Shouyou said there was a cut on his lip. There was nothing like that on him this morning." Bokuto stated, still staring directly in front of him. Kuroo couldn't deny that was true. He had a good look at him this morning and he definitely didn't look like he had any sort of injuries. So there _was_ something going on with Bokuto's prostitute bride... Kuroo's immediate thought was the possibility of a pimp. He voiced it to Bokuto but he didn't seem to care about how they were connected to the situation and more just wanted to know the specifics. Like who was responsible and how many body bags he should have Kuroo prepare. 

"Should probably fill Chibi-chan in on what your crush does for a living.." Kuroo said as he picked up Bokuto's phone and went over the messages, walking across the bar as he read them out loud. "7:00pm - Toronoti highschool, 9:30pm - Bulgari restaurant, 10:15pm - 'Jenjou', mid Takeshita street..." He read the first two rather obnoxiously, his tone fading, trailing off as he read the final one. Cogs turning in his brain. 

"Kenma, where have i heard 'Jenjou' before?" He asked, still staring at the phone. 

Kenma shrugged "Noya's reports probably..." he replied monotonously. The recon raised his head to the mention of his name and looked blank for a few seconds, kneeling in front of Kiyoko, before remembering the source of his information. "AH! last week when i was tailing the flower neck guy! he told one of his dudes he was heading to 'Jenjou'" he informed proudly, hands on his hips. Kuroo grinned "..And we didn't know where it was... but that's because we were looking for a place! It's not a place, _it's a title!_ a code name of some sort!" The puzzle pieces were falling into place. They had been looking into the gangs of Tokyo, working to exterminate the ones that were over stepping their boundaries. The information they had collected told them that several leaders were coming together at some point, and now they knew when and where. 

"This is perfect! Now we can track them back to their bases, _politely_ let them know Tokyo's not to be fucked with and get them all the hell out!" Kuroo was already making plans in his head, plotting all the different ways they would screw with them and scare them away if necessary. They had various bits of information on each of the leaders, they had enough to send them out of Tokyo with their tails between their legs, the only problem was that they never knew where they were, couldn't find their bases, therefore, couldn't act. But now all of that's changed. 

Maybe they could send someone in... Bokuto was their best option but Kuroo wasn't sure how focused he would be with everything going on with Akaashi. Kuroo's ears picked up the sound of the main door of the club opening, which is strange considering how early it was. His questions were answered when the slight noises were followed by Suga's distressed call "What happened?!" 

Asahi, who had been sleeping in the backroom, was awoken by the sudden panic and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Kuroo ran back into the main room, eyes drawn to Bokuto, now by the door, assisting one of the two newcomers hold up an irritated and _bruised_ Tsukishima. Bokuto was checking the seriousness of his injuries and Tsukishima was pulling his head away, pouting angrily, snapping at the two men supporting him, not one who likes to be babied. 

"Your blondie is lucky Iwa-chan and I happened to be on our date just now~.." the coy voice echoed through the bar, the room seeming like it illuminated with his presence. Iwaizumi grunted at the statement, setting Tsukishima down on a nearby chair. Bokuto leaned down in front of the blond in question and put a rough hand on the side of his face, forcing him to sit still while he checked the nasty bloody gash on his forehead. Oikawa strolled in, hands in his suit pockets, standing out like a rose in a garden of weeds as per usual. Kuroo watched the man carefully, a year ago he would have had Asahi throw him out, but the two of their groups have made their peace. Oikawa owns a company with branches all over Japan, and uses it as a cover for his more illegal interests. Iwaizumi is.. well Kuroo doesn't pry into that sort of thing, but he's Oikawa's bodyguard day by day. And he guesses they really were lucky that they happened to be around at the time.

Suga crouched beside Bokuto, putting a gentle hand on Tsukishima's back "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, picking his cracked glasses from his face and putting them aside. "Oh i'm just peachy! Can't you tell?" he retorted with a mocking smile and Kuroo narrowed his eyes. "This situation doesn't need your sass _Tsukki_ " he scolded with the nickname the other hates so much. Ignoring the blond's scowling, he continued "What's going on?" He directed at Oikawa, who had a flirtatious smile permanently etched to his face, but Iwaizumi was the one who answered, holding up a finger and exiting the bar, only to return a few moments later, dragging a man behind him. 

"Some guys tried to snatch him off the side walk a few blocks down." He said as he effortlessly dumped the unconscious man onto the floor by the other men's feet. "There were three of them but this is the only one i managed to catch.." he folded his arms and looked to Oikawa, who winked at him before turning his attention to the rest of the room. "Aren't we nice bringing you presents? ..Looks like 'Tsukki' had a run in with some unfriendly people!" He chirped "The human trafficking kind." he slipped behind the bar and poured himself a drink and made himself at home. Nobody bothered to stop him, they knew better than to mess with him. 

" Who they are... i'm not sure, sorry." The apology actually sounded sincere. All eyes in the room were on the pretty CEO as he stirred his drink, his expression changing to a pondering one "...They're certainty being active though..." his final statement was half in deep thought, like he was contemplating who they were and what they were doing trying to grab people in broad daylight. Kuroo wanted to know as well. Was Tsukishima a random target or was this a direct attack on them? He wasn't willing to take risks, and luckily they knew just where some likely suspects were going to be tonight. 

"Well then i guess that means we take them down a peg." Bokuto spoke as he stood up, Kiyoko relieving him from his post of looking after Tsukishima. "There a way to find out who he works for?" he looked directly to Kuroo, who was already mentally plotting a way to get to Jenjou to make their mark. "I think we could work something out... you down for screwing with some yakuza bosses?" The eyecontact they made was all the answer Kuroo needed, the next one to speak up was Oikawa, seated at the bar, legs crossed, drink in hand "I'd be careful if i were you Kou-chan~" he called sweetly "There may be more to this than you realize.." 

Kuroo eyed him suspiciously "You know something we don't?" 

Oikawa feigned offense, putting a hand to his chest "You wound me Testu-chan! you know i'd tell you if i did. It's simply clear to me there's something shady going on in Tokyo. They aren't just active, they're methodical... most of the time.." He glanced down at the man on the ground in distaste before continuing "..I just don't want all of your adorable faces ending up in a high security prison." he finished with a smile, sipping his drink and delicately placing it on the bar. Kuroo sighed, deciding to ignore him, but take what he said into consideration. He was right about one thing, there was something going on in their city and they had to find out what. Why were these gang becoming more active? Acting out in the middle of the day? It didn't make any sense.

Regardless, they needed to get started on coming up with a plan. He put his hand to his chin and tapped his thumb on his jaw thoughtfully. "Well we're one up on them. We know where they're gonna be and they don't know we're coming." Kuroo stated to the room. Suga who was now standing beside him chimed in "So what, we tail them, find their bases and scare them away?" 

Kuroo shook his head "Almost. We need to scare them sooner than that. That's where Bokuto comes in." He pointed to the one in question as he spoke "I'm feeling the direct approach. Just waltz right on in there and spook 'em" Bokuto nodded at the idea "As long as i don't get shot again i'm ok with anything." Kuroo cringed at the mention. It wasn't his fault! He may have miscalculated the amount of men on the grounds and Bokuto just so happened to be to be in the prime position to be sniped. Luckily it was a shitty sniper but Bokuto still wasn't pleased about needing stitches. 

"You'll be fine." it was an empty promise, but Bokuto's a big boy who can handle a bit of pain "Besides, your princess is gonna be there remember? Nobody is better suited to go than you." Kuroo eyed him at the mention of Akaashi. Bokuto seemed less aloof and more determined at the thought of seeing him again. It's only been a few hours and he's already getting needy. Kuroo instructed his team to make various preparations, get eyes on roofs, hack into cameras around Takeshita street and gather any nasty bits of info or evidence of crime they have against the five big groups that will be represented at the meeting. Oikawa offered his assistance, wanting these men gone as much as they did, so Kuroo implemented Oikawa's experts into their plan. 

As Kuroo was looking over what they had so far, Bokuto's phone buzzed in his pocket. Kuroo looked down, forgetting he still had it and opened the new messages. Both from Hinata, Kuroo stared at the messages, a harrowing feeling of stress growing in his chest as he read the bad news. Again, he didn't necessarily care about Akaashi, he didn't have a reason to besides from Bokuto's obsession with him. He had a team of people to worry about, they're his family, he can't put some random prostitute's safety as a higher priority over theirs. If he tells Bokuto about the messages, who knows what he'll do. Something reckless is almost guaranteed and in the precarious situation they're currently in, and that's precisely what they didn't need.

But he couldn't keep it from him. Bokuto deserved to know, he sent Hinata out specifically to find out if he was in danger at all and well, now we know. All he could do was try to talk him out of doing something insane. 

He caught Bokuto's attention and called him over to a room off to the side which Kuroo refers to as his office, even though he uses it less than Kiyoko or Suga in terms of the documents stored in there. The only times he goes in there is for, **ahem** , _time alone_ with Kenma, but he had the occasional private conversation too. Bokuto walked in behind him and closed the door, glancing at his phone in Kuroo's hand. Before he could speak, Kuroo cut in, explaining himself "OK before I say anything, you need to promise not to freak out. you need to promise you'll listen to me and let me help you sort this out instead of running off by yourself..." 

Bokuto looked on curiously "Sure? what's up?" 

Not satisfied with the answer but not feeling as though he'll get a better one, Kuroo wearily held out the phone, open to Hinata's messages and Bokuto stared at it blankly before taking his phone and reading the new messages. Kuroo got nervous when Bokuto's face returned to the same stony expression from before, not shocked, or angry, just... something Kuroo didn't like seeing on his closest friend. He watched as he replied to the messages, Kuroo asked what he said, not trusting any of his actions at the present time. "I just told him to come back and said thanks." Bokuto spoke in a colorless tone, staring at the screen, scrolling up and re reading the previous messages. 

"Bokuto, vocalize your thoughts for me... let me help you." Kuroo reminded his friend of their previous talks about Bokuto's mood swings. Bokuto just stood eerily still, eyes rapidly scanning over the messages. Kuroo stiffened when Bokuto finally spoke "Where's the Kiba hotel?" he asked vacantly. 

"Bokuto, no." 

"I'll find it myself then." 

"Bokuto don't you fucking dare. We have a mission now, an _important_ mission with more significance than the personal life of one person." Kuroo warned, watching the other man carefully. 

Bokuto didn't move an inch "That's fine. I can still do it. I just need some time in between" He continued his monotonous tone. 

Kuroo walked forward, grabbing the phone out of his hands and tossing it onto the desk behind him. "This- _this_ right here, is exactly what i'm talking about. You don't think Bokuto. You _need_ to think." He stared at the side of his friends lowered head. "I don't know why you're so obsessed with this kid, i don't know what magic spell he's put on you to make you lose your common sense but going to that hotel could be dangerous and you know it. Is it so bad that i don't want you to die anytime soon?" Kuroo had to force his voice not to break at that last part. Bokuto put a serious amount of strain on his emotional health. 

"Someone's hurting him and i'm gonna find out who" he stated like he had already made the decision "i can't just do nothing." 

"Yeah you can! because we _can't_ do anything Bokuto." Kuroo stated unsympathetically "You can be his knight in shining armor another day when we're _prepared_ for a fight, when we've had some time to look over the facts. We don't do spontaneous because spontaneous gets us killed or caught." He didn't mean to be so harsh but he was just laying out the facts, Kuroo continued "Plus we can't miss this chance, We're never going to catch all of these guys together again and now after what happened to four-eyes, we have more to worry about...

Kuroo stepped back, getting out of the others face "I'm sure whatever's going on at the Kiba is something he's used to anyway." 

He knew by the way Bokuto glared at him it wasn't the best thing to say but at least Bokuto was actually looking at him now. He challenged the expression with a glare of his own "Oh _c'mon_ Koutarou." he said exhaustidly "He's not an innocent, part-time barista in the wrong part of town, _he's a hooker_. You think he's going to that hotel to sell cookies?" 

"Are you just gonna ignore that fact that this 'Douche' has clearly got some sort of influence over him?" Bokuto's counter-argument was curt and unfortunately, solid. Kuroo couldn't deny that part, but it didn't change the fact that he wasn't going to let Bokuto run into a public building, guns blazing, at risk of getting arrested or killed. "No. I'm just saying _leave it for now_. That's all i'm asking." Kuroo had gotten to the point of pleading, he hated this part but he didn't see another choice "please Bokuto, just... just, don't go running off. I want to help you, but i _can't_ yet. You just need to be patient for a little longer.." 

Bokuto's expression didn't really change but the look in his eyes did. They went from a cold, determined stare to a reflective gaze, hopefully thinking over his actions. The mercenary sighed, standing upright, nodding slowly. 

"...Sure." 

Kuroo felt somewhat relieved despite the harrowing feeling not leaving his chest. He left it where it was for now, but not taking his guard down for a second. He placed a hand on his friends shoulder, patting supportively "Just know that you never have to do anything by yourself ok? I'm always gonna be there.." 

Kuroo's relief intensified at the sight of Bokuto smiling, it was a small smile but a smile nonetheless. 

"I know Kuro..." 

So why didn't he trust it...? 

"Thank you." 

**\----**

Akaashi didn't even know what happened, why was Meguro so suspicious of him? His fingers felt numb, and his head was pounding. He just wanted to go home... 

After a while, Akaashi's ears tuned into the sound of sirens blaring from outside, his heart began to race. He hoped he had never run into any of the police on scene before, his job choice wasn't exactly legal. A few minutes later, people were being escorted out of the hall as men and women in coats and suits filed in, carrying suitcases and one with a camera. It was all a blur to Akaashi, one moment he was by himself and it was almost like he blinked and then he was surrounded in police and forensics teams. One of the men immediately approached Akaashi, kneeling down beside him as a woman came and put a blanket over his shoulders.

"You're the one that found them?" The tall man asked gently, taking a seat beside Akaashi. He just nodded, staring forward at his feet. The man stared to the side, into the room, assessing the scene before him with a grim expression on his face before returning his kind eyes to Akaashi. "I'm Officer Ayanto.. What's your name?" he asked politely. Akaashi mumbled his name nervously, despite the comforting voice of the policeman. He smiled at him "Why don't we go somewhere less... messy. Would you mind coming to the police station with me? just so i can ask you a few questions, it won't take long i promise." Akaashi new that was likely and empty promise, it would take a while for them to sort everything out, he expected he'd be there for a few hours at least. He reluctantly nodded, and the man offered him a hand to stand up. He accepted it, shakily getting to his feet. The policemen had to catch him when he stumbled forward, his legs not quite up to moving at the moment. 

"Are you alright? it's okay if you aren't." Akaashi was appreciative of the mans gentle tone, he honestly needed someone to be nice to him right now. At least there was no way they could pin him as a suspect, one, meek-looking guy, take down four fully grown men? He was glad he wouldn't have to deal with that stress. He nodded again, standing up straight and looking up at the taller man, who smiled down at him, no doubt trying to make him feel better It sort of worked, sort of. He placed a hand in between Akaashi's shoulder blades and directed him to the elevator, placing himself in between Akaashi and the scene to their side, instructing his team to inform him if they discovered anything relevant. Once they were outside in the cold air, Akaashi pulled the blanket tighter around himself, glancing up at the policeman, listening to the rabble of people who had gathered around the front of the hotel to see what was going on. 

"I-...uh.. What time is it?" He asked softly, still not in complete control of his voice. The officer looked at his watch and responded "Almost 1am.." Akaashi tried to hide his surprise, he didn't realize he had been sitting there panicking for so long. 

"It's likely you went into shock after finding the bodies. There's probably a big chunk of your memory missing huh?" officer Ayanto filled in, noticing Akaashi's confusion. He opened the back door of his car for Akaashi to step in and Akaashi did so, feeling much safer in the warm backseat of the well-furnished car. The policeman slid into the front, turning off the siren on the dashboard that was still flashing and pulled out of his hasty parking spot, and slowly moving down the road. The officer was trying to make friendly conversation but Akaashi was racking his brain, trying to remember what he had forgotten. He opened the door, saw the bodies and _blank_ nothing. The next thing he remembers is falling backwards and calling Meguro, which he felt was a rational response. 

He hadn't stopped shaking. Everything was so surreal, no one could ever prepare themselves to see something like that. Moments before he was feeling scared yeah, ashamed even, but this was on a whole new level. The drive dragged on, the policeman occasionally speaking to co workers that phones in, asking various questions or filling him in about details of the scene, which he ceased once he looked into the rear view mirror to see a pale, trembling Akaashi. He hoped he wouldn't be there for long. He just wanted to go home and cry, not sit in a cold police station. 

Looking out the window, Akaashi noticed they weren't going to the local one, they headed directly to the main police department of Tokyo. He was even less keen on that, an entire building filled with authorities ready to psycho analyze him and incriminate him if he wavered even slightly. He sniffed, hiccuping and wiping an eye with the edge of the blanket curled up in his grasp. The officer reached beside him and handed a box of tissues back to him. Akaashi took them with a meek 'thank you' and another sniff, quietly blowing his nose with the first tissue. Akaashi's not a bad person, he's just trying to make a living and gets involved with bad people. 

Inside the giant building was just as bad as Akaashi expected. Masses of people running around, men who looked like small-time gang members being tackled to the ground right there in the lobby as they were being brought in by the police. The officer directing Akaashi, walked beside him, a hand hovering over his back, just leading him in the right way. Just outside a door, the officer stopped Akaashi by a desk. "We're about to have a very important, confidential conversation involving what's potentially a quadruple murder case, so i'm going to have to confiscate any belongings you may have on you." He informed clearly and Akaashi blinked at him, biting his tongue nervously. He didn't really want to give up his phone, Akaashi's pretty sure they can legally go through any belongings confiscated from suspects or witnesses... Which means they'd see who he called instead of the police. 

His heart stammered in his chest, He didn't have a choice either way. He unclenched his hand around his wallet and where he thought his phone was but a shock of realization ran through him instead. He dropped it in the hallway, he never picked it up again. A confusing mix of panic and relief rippled over him, The officer noticed his confusion as Akaashi looked down on reflex, to see if he had dropped his phone in the station. Akaashi hesitantly handed over his wallet, fiddling with his shirt 

"I...uh, i think i... dropped my phone somewhere between the hotel and here..." Akaashi managed meekly, looking up at the man, who seemed to survey him to see if he was lying. However once he scanned over Akaashi's current outfit it was clear he had nowhere to hide anything. He nodded thoughtfully "I can get someone on scene to find it and hold onto it for you until you go back. You have a room there yes?" he asked as he placed Akaashi's wallet into a tray. He felt the familiar stammering sensation rising in him at the need for another lie, but he bit back his reluctance, nodding a bit too quickly "Yeah-...uhm...yes... down the hall from the- uh... uhm 412....yes." What a fucking mess. 

The other man nodded slowly, he must be taking Akaashi's behavior as shock and not blatant lying because Akaashi can't help but feel like he's being unbearably obvious. "Are you there alone?" he asked slowly like he wasn't sure if Akaashi was capable of having a normal conversation, which wasn't necessarily untrue at the time. He nodded again, quickly changing it to a shake "I... no. My boyfriend.. is with me" he wasn't even convinced by his own voice. Clearly, Officer Ayanto wasn't either. "And where's he?" his voice wasn't really accusing, not really concerned either.... sort of like how a teacher speaks to you when they aren't sure if your excuse about being late is true or not. 

"He... went to get a late dinner, we were.... _busy_ all day." He spoke vaguely, the officer apparently taking 'busy' as something he shouldn't question. Akaashi half intended that. "He would be back by now..." 

The officer nodded, "He must be worried about you. You can use our phones to call him after we've talked." Akaashi nodded hurriedly and mumbled a 'thank you' as the other man waved him into the room to their side. 

_please don't start suspecting my imaginary boyfriend, i don't have any more excuses for him.._

The room Akaashi was put in was just what he thought it would be. A square room, a big mirror on one wall - likely see through from the other side- and a table in the middle with a chair on either side. The man held the door open for Akaashi and told him to sit in the seat facing the mirror. He felt like he was about to be interrogated rather than them consoling a witness. Regardless, he did what he was told and sat down, smoothing the blanket against his bare legs, putting the material in between them and the cold wooden chair. The officer left him sitting in the room for what must have been at least an hour, until he finally decided to join him, a folder in one hand and a tape recorder in the other. 

Akaashi gulped, fidgeting with his fingers in his lap, eyes wearily following officer Ayanto as he sat down across from him, placing both object on the table. He addressed the tape recorder "Do you mind if we record your statement? You're allowed to say no." The man assured him and Akaashi was hesitant to reply. He didn't want to seem suspicious, he didn't really have anything to hide but he didn't want to let anything slip. Akaashi shook his head "I don't mind" He spoke clearly but quietly, finding his voice finally. The policeman nodded, pressing the record button and sliding it into the middle of the table. Akaashi's heart started hammering in his chest, something about being recorded was just unsettling. He endured it, taking a deep breathe, closing his eyes for a moment as the man across from his slowly started to speak. 

"Now i know this is unpleasant but i'm going to need you to be as specific as possible. We can take a break whenever you like if you get uncomfortable" He spoke gently but with a very subtle sense of urgency. That was no surprise. Akaashi was their only lead, for all he knew they actually did suspect him. He nodded again and the officer began the questions. "Let's get right to the unpleasant part.. When did you discover the bodies?" His cautious tone was gone, now he just wanted information. 

Akaashi gripped the blanket "Just after 12.." He spoke semi clearly. The policeman slid the tape recorder closer to him in response, Akaashi almost felt embarrassed for whatever reason his brain was giving him. "The first call came in at 11:15, said they heard shouting and banging, security did a sweep but found nothing, then at 12:10 the next call heard a scream from inside the hotel. After that a flood of calls after that came at 12:15..." he listed the calls from the folder before raising his head to Akaashi "Why didn't you call the police yourself?" he folded his hands in front of him on the table and Akaashi bit the inside of his cheek. "I was panicking. i don't think i did a lot of anything until other people came out into the hallway.." Akaashi answered truthfully, staring at the tape recorder in front of him, listening its dull whirring. 

"Why were you at that room?" he responded with a question, seemingly because he was fine with Akaashi's previous answer, he had no reason to doubt him. At the present moment anyway. Akaashi gulped as much saliva down his dry throat as possible "I was walking passed it to my room..."

_What do i say? The door was slightly open? No, the hotel doors are electronic and weighted, they close by themselves... But the door **was** open... I heard something? It's the most plausible but it could backfire depending on how long the men were dead for...However regardless of that, coincidence isn't enough for an arrest or even a warrant so i should be ok._ **_Time elapsed - 0.05 seconds_ **

"... and i heard a crash or a bumping noise, i can't remember.. I knocked on the door but no one answered, so i opened the door and.. well." he trailed off, the rest of the sentence being obvious.

The officer nodded, checking the next question on his list. "The hotel maintenance room was sabotaged. Everything from the doors to the power needed to work a toaster was shut off. The only things left working were hall lights and the elevator..." He moved his pen down the list of information he'd received from the initial sweep of the crime scene. "It's likely this was performed by more than one person and this was how the killer entered the room and the hotel itself without being noticed." 

Akaashi curled his fists in the blanket as the officer continued "So you're saying you don't know any of the four men in that room?" Akaashi nodded, the officer moved to the next question "Did you see any suspicious people inside or outside the hotel around midnight?" Akaashi shook his head and flinched when the door opened, a woman with another folder walking through. 

Ayanto wordlessly scanned through the folder, glancing at Akaashi before putting it to the side, returning to his list. Akaashi stared at the folder, wondering what could be in there... was it to do with this case or a different one? 

The officer looked as though he was skipping passed questions he didn't feel was relevant to ask Akaashi but the silence only made him more nervous. It was even more frustrating that the officer seemed to be doing it on purpose. Making him wait. Did he really think Akaashi had something to hide? Well, it's true. But it's not like he killed anyone. 

"Me and some other officers couldn't help but notice your various injuries. Care to explain how you got them?" 

Akaashi immediately froze. He stammered, wrapping the blanket around him tighter. The officer pressed "The bruises around your neck you tried to hide, correlate with the bruises that would appear if someone, say... tried to choke you." He watched Akaashi for a reaction and the boy couldn't stop himself from tensing up. "As well as your lip and various other marks we have no choice but to speculate that someone did that to you." 

Akaashi didn't reply. He didn't know what to say, 'Oh this? i tripped and fell.' 

"You mentioned having a boyfriend. Does he abuse you?" 

Akaashi shook his head. He felt so stupid, defending his imaginary boyfriend. He couldn't exactly pin anything on him since it would require a name and a face, but it also meant he had to think of a different excuse. The officer, leaned forward with a sigh " Akaashi, you're going to have to be honest. Withholding information in a murder case is a serious offense. You seem like a good kid but if there's anything to tell me, you need to say it now." 

Akaashi chewed on his lip, his hands grabbing anxiously at his shirt. He had almost no connection to those men. If he wanted to tell the truth, he'd have to open up about _everything_. Which wouldn't save him at all. Meguro would make sure he spent a lengthy time in prison for something he didn't do, no doubt. He'd find some way to pin whatever crime on him and if that happened there would be no one to look after his mother... 

The officer stared right at Akaashi, hands cupped in front of him. "Are your injuries connected to the men in that room?" 

Akaashi sniffed, nodding his head. Officer Ayanto's interest levels heightened, "So that's a yes?" He said for the recording and Akaashi nodded again. Lying was all he could think of doing. He knew the officers would be taking everything he said with a pinch of salt but he had no other options. 

"Yeah..." 

The officer took the new folder and opened it up. He put four photos on the table, lining them up in front of Akaashi. They were pictures of the men from the hotel room, their faces had been cleaned up for the photo, but it still wasn't pleasant to look at. Ayanto directed his attention to them "Are any of these men familiar?" 

Akaashi just pointed to a random one. He picked the one left from the middle just because. If he had to pick a reason it might be because he was the least identifiable. By facial features anyway. "Do you have any idea why these men may have been targeted?" He asked as he packed the photo's away, putting a tag on the one Akaashi singled out. He had resorted to bullshitting his way through the interrogation and letting the officer draw his own conclusions. It looked like it was working out, he just needed to make sure he didn't overlap information.

Once the officer seemed satisfied with everything he had found out, he returned his examining eyes to Akaashi after sorting out all of his files. "Akaashi it may be in your best interest to put you into a... let's call it a form of witness protection. We aren't going to force you to move cities or change your name, however if there's any chance whoever committed these murders can find you, we want to stop that from happening." Akaashi nodded slowly _Why though? i guess i did make it seem like i was more involved with those men than i actually was... but what's Meguro going to say? Are they going to be keeping an eye on me? How am i gonna do my job if i have police buzzing around 'looking after me'?_

Akaashi listened to him carefully as he explained the terms. He would no doubt notice 'an increased level in police activity' in his life. Joy. He would be given a pager that he would use as an emergency form of contact if he felt he was in danger, and he was to immediately call if he remembered anything at all. It was surprisingly little but he was glad he wasn't going to have a police escort to his clients houses. "Now i'm going to need a few details on the people in your life... family, your boyfriend, any close friends.. someone we can send you to or extend out protection to if necessary." 

_Shit_

Akaashi instantly fell nervous again. He quietly coughed out a tickle in his throat "I... uh, well. My mother's in the Tokyo hospital but she's uh... probably gonna be moved to hospice care..." He mumbled the last part. he had come to terms with it but he hadn't at the same time... The news that your mother's on her last leg is hard to cope with, even though it's been coming for quite some time..

Ayanto nodded thoughtfully "I'm sorry to hear that. What about your boyfriend? Could i get his name?" 

The dull clicking of the door opening caught both of their attention, a young officer walked in "Uh! Sorry sir, but..." 

_Another convenient save. Why am i getting that weird feeling again..._

"...there's a guy here, asking for Akaashi Keiji." He looked towards Akaashi and the boy sat up straight, pondering who it could be. 

"..he was sorta shady looking so we're holding him in the old offices until we could confirm his presence with someone." 

_There's no way..._

"Did he say his name?" Ayanto stood and addressed the younger officer. 

"Bokuto Koutarou." He replied, reading the name off the clipboard in his hand. 

Akaashi wasn't sure whether to be relieved or pissed off. One half of him wanted to see him and the other half wanted him to fuck off to a different country. The officers both turned to him with expectant faces, asking him if he recognized the name. Akaashi nodded, a tad too eagerly, but he had a plan. Ayanto confirmed it with the younger officer "Send him in." 

Akaashi listened to the familiar voice echoing down the hallway, asking questions that were blatantly ignored by the officers -who clearly didn't trust him- and loudly exclaiming his observations around the department. As soon as the merc turned the corner, through the doorway, Bokuto's loud voice exclaimed again.

"Finally! Why the hell did you ru-" 

Before Bokuto could finish, Akaashi ran forward, dropping the blanket and threw his arms around the taller man's torso, gripping the material on his back and nuzzling his face into the crook of the others neck, the fake sob catching the merc by surprise. Akaashi just hoped he would catch on, there was always the possibility this could still go ass up... 

Akaashi persevered with his distraught witness act -which he was now exaggerating to an extent- refusing to reply to Bokuto's confused concern, prompting the officers to speak to him instead. "Bokuto..." Ayanto began with a hint of uncertainty "How did you know Akaashi was here?" he was scanning over the merc with a subtle level of intensity. 

"I was walking up to the hotel and i saw him get into a police car..." Bokuto spoke casually. You'd think he'd be a little nervous in a police station, surrounded by people who's job it is to arrest guys like him. He moved a hand from Akaashi's back, to his head, lightly patting the soft mop of hair as the officers watched them with skepticism. "...I was about to ask why he's here." Bokuto's tone sounded astoundingly close to a protective boyfriend, Akaashi wondered if it was just how he is, or if he had maybe caught on. He figured Bokuto must have realized he didn't want to reveal his career choice to the police, so with any luck this would go alright. Bokuto slipped his arms out of his jacket and draped them over the younger man's shoulders, rubbing his arms after feeling the cold skin. Akaashi ignored the flutter in his chest at the action.

"He's the main witness in a quadruple homicide.." officer Ayanto answered "..he discovered the bodies of four men in one of the rooms of the Kiba."

Akaashi felt the hand in his hair tense for a split second. 

Bokuto stared down at the one clinging to his chest and as if Ayanto sensed a tender moment, he cut in with another question "Do you mind telling me what you've been doing from 11pm to about twenty minutes ago?" His attention was completely on Bokuto now. Since Akaashi was working Bokuto into his lie, he just hoped they would learn to communicate telepathically in the next few seconds. 

"You mean besides from trying to figure out where you took Keiji?" Bokuto's replies were straight forward but more importantly he was dodging the questions. Akaashi assumed this would be something he was good at and he wasn't wrong. Ayanto was probably trying to get an answer out of Bokuto that didn't match up with what Akaashi said earlier. Ayanto was steadily growing more and more suspicious but as long as Bokuto didn't say anything dumb, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on in terms of accusing him for anything. "If it's all the same to you, i'd rather take him back to our room now..." Bokuto looked to the man with tired eyes, speaking respectfully but with a face that was purely disinterested in any reply the cop could think of. 

Ayanto looked as though he wanted to retort but just as Akaashi expected, he couldn't lawfully claim that they _had_ to stay here with only speculation on his side. He nodded slowly, arms crossed in front of his chest, a thin smile on his face. "Just let me check if the scene's been cleaned up, then i can have someone take you there..." he waved off one of the men who had brought Bokuto in to follow the order, keeping his side eye on the two of them. Akaashi was beginning to get frustrated. He tightened his grip around Bokuto, keeping his face hidden, only planning to cut in if Bokuto sounded like he was running out of excuses. The air around them was cold and quiet but Akaashi was okay... it was almost unnerving how safe he felt in Bokuto's embrace, the man rubbing circles on his back as they waited for a policeman to speak. 

"How long have you two been staying at the Kiba?" He was addressing both of them now, even though it was clear Akaashi had no intention of speaking. Bokuto sighed, rolling his eyes "A few days, not that we'll be there for much longer.. actually the city in general, since apparently the police force here are okay with interrogating people who are half dressed." he eyed he cop disapprovingly. Akaashi felt like that statement should have embarrassed him, but honestly he's never been that bothered by leering unless it made him feel particularly unsafe. At the moment he was just was mildly impressed with how Bokuto continuously found ways to turn the conversation in his favor. Ayanto appeared to acknowledge his mistake with a nod but quickly returned to his prying. "I'm afraid you can't leave the city while the case is in progress. Like I said, Akaashi is a witness." 

Bokuto grumbled in irritation, Akaashi, still not sure whether it was an act or not, lifted his head and released his tight hold on the other, resting his hands on Bokuto's waist. "It's fine." Akaashi spoke, pinching Bokuto with the hand concealed from Ayanto's view. "We're hotel hopping until we find an apartment we like here in the city... except maybe not this side of the city." Akaashi spoke softly, speaking more to Bokuto's chest rather than the police in the room. "We were considering going to the Yanagibasi from here if you needed to know." 

Ayanto shook his head "Again, no. Because of the high level of violence in this case, any witnesses could potentially face the same fate, which is why we'll put you both into a protected sector until we feel it's safer. You'll stay in the hotel for a night or two and then we'll move you both."

Akaashi's side eyed the policeman, analyzing his words in his head. Bokuto was just straight up pouting. Akaashi was finding it hard to figure out what's going through his head. He wondered if Bokuto even knew. 

Before long, they were in a police car being escorted back to the hotel. There were no signs of police cars or ambulances around the block however he assumed there would be patrols. Akaashi peered at Bokuto's phone as he tapped on the screen. 

_Stay inside tonight-..._ was all he could see because of the angle Bokuto was holding it at. Not the rest of the message or who it was being sent to. Akaashi took the quiet ride as an opportunity to look at the man. He found himself staring at the side of his face, calm and concentrated was a weirdly suiting expression for the mans defined features. His eyes were drawn to a deep scratch under his jaw, two light red marks on either side. Akaashi's heart rate quickened. _It looks like someone clawed at his neck..._

**\-----------**

"Ok remember Akaashi-san, If you need anything, or if you have any more information, don't hesitate to call.." Ayanto handed Akaashi a very simple disposable flip phone, as well as Akaashi's phone which was recovered and hopefully not gone through. Bokuto was tapping his foot impatiently, subtly scanning the hotel room like he was looking for something specific. Akaashi sighed a thank you, Ayanto assured him one more time that they would do their best to keep him safe. Akaashi was thankful although he was pretty certain he was safe, he needed to remember he had convinced the police that he was involved with the men who died and that he's _not_ a sex worker. 

"There are men stationed in here if you need them since the damage to the security won't be fixed until tomorrow. Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Ayanto explained before he gave Bokuto a curt nod, but Bokuto didn't bother returning the gesture, instead just returning to his 'search'. Akaashi stared at the man. Somehow he got the feeling the merc wasn't going to let him out of his sight anytime soon. 

The officers closed the door behind them and Akaashi waited until the footsteps outside the door had disappeared into the distance. He turned around to look at the room; It's the exact layout of the other room, and for a split second, the scene from just a few hours ago flashed before his eyes. What disturbed him most was his lack of concern, like he'd already accepted what happened and it didn't bother him anymore. Is that normal? He honestly just wanted to go to sleep. There was a suitcase on the bed that no doubt belonged to Meguro. He might be able to find something in there to wear. The contents would be more likely to fit Bokuto... 

His eyes returned to Bokuto who was poking around in the bathroom. His eyes followed him to the window, the balcony, the desk, the small bookshelf above the desk, as he pottered around the room like a distracted house guest. "...Are you looking for something?" Akaashi folded his arms across his chest, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Bokuto glanced at him before spending a bit of time staring at the small bookshelf. Narrowing his eyes at the other man, Akaashi approached the suitcase and opened it, pulling out pajama pants and a shirt and pulled his own shirt over his head, tossing it onto a nearby chair. As he pulled on the trousers he took another glance at Bokuto who still seemed to find the bookshelf more interesting than Akaashi. He felt a little silly for assuming Bokuto would drop whatever he was doing to watch him change but nothing Bokuto had done until this point would suggest he would do otherwise. What the hell is he looking for? 

Akaashi sat down on the bed and rolled up the bottom of the pants so they sat just above his ankle. The sound of a smooth piano/violin duet filling the air, followed by footsteps moving towards him, lead Akaashi to lift his head. A large hand entered his vision, right in front of his face. He looked up to the smiling face of Bokuto, looking down at him.

"Dance with me."

Akaashi stared at him blankly, but the other man didn't move or even attempt to explain himself. he stood there, arm outstretched for Akaashi to take. 

Before Akaashi could mock him for asking, he was pulled onto his feet and spun around in a clumsy circle. He would have fallen if Bokuto didn't have a strong grip around his waist. Just when he though he regained his balance, Bokuto swung him around again, making him stumble and grip onto his shirt for reassurance that he wouldn't fall to the ground. 

"What are yo-" Akaashi's questions were cut short by the other man's breath hitting his ear, running down his neck. Akaashi could have let his bottom half go numb at that moment, if it weren't for what the mercenary said. 

"We're being watched." 

He said it so quietly, a smile etched across his face, his hand gently holding Akaashi's as the dance paused, the two of them swaying in place. How is he so sure? Was that what he was looking for? Akaashi slowly moved his free hand to Bokuto's shoulder, keeping his face as neutral to the news as he could manage. "How do you know?" he let their cheeks press together, Bokuto slowly began leading them into an impromptu dance routine that was clear he was making up on the spot. 

"You told them what room you were staying in right?" Akaashi nodded to the question and Bokuto lifted their arms, twirling Akaashi once before bringing their bodies together again, lips to his ear. "The door wasn't locked when we got here. Plus I can't help but feel they were a little suspicious..." 

"Yeah, suspicious of _you_. Can you blame them?" Akaashi butted in, moving in rhythm with the other now that he's somewhat memorized his repetitive movements. Bokuto let a short chuckle move passed his lips, the low laugh in Akaashi's ear made him shiver, what emotions were behind the shiver, he wasn't too sure. 

"Well yes... but besides from that." Bokuto spoke softly into his neck "Some forms of witness protection require the cops to keep an _extra close_ eye on them... and they don't necessarily have to inform _said witness_ of, if they feel their knowledge of it would impede their investigation." Akaashi resisted the urge to look over at the bookshelf. "Are you saying there's a camera in here?" He tried to not let his voice sound too appalled. Akaashi is very attached to his privacy and the idea of being spied on makes his skin crawl.

"Probably a microphone too." Bokuto moved his hand down Akaashi's back as he spun them around once again. "Maybe they're expecting us to plan an escape? or maybe nonchalantly discuss all of our illegal activities like we're villains in Scooby Doo." 

Akaashi's attempt to stifle a laugh just ended in a soft snort, he covered his mouth as a light blush spread over his face. Bokuto pulled back just enough to see his face and smiled down at him. Akaashi's soft smile in return was completely accidental, he didn't realize he was doing it until Bokuto released his hand and cupped his jaw, running his thumb over the scabbing cut on his lip. 

Akaashi winced when the tender skin was touched and Bokuto's smile faded. "Who did this to you?" 

His voice was so soft, so gentle. He ran his thumb over the younger man's cheek as he awaited a response. Akaashi didn't even know what to say...

"It.. It's not important-"

"Yes it is." 

His other hand moved to join his other on Akaashi's cheek, cradling his face with the utmost care. Akaashi allowed his head to be tilted back, his fingers lightly grasping Bokuto's forearms as he moved his face closer. 

He stopped, staring into Akaashi's eyes, something changed. The loving glow that emanated from his bright yellow eyes moments before was replaced. Replaced with something...else. The stare that was comforting him was now doing the complete opposite, laying a sense of anxiousness into his very soul. 

"I can kill them if you want..." 

Akaashi's eyes went wide, he felt like he should have ripped himself away, backed up, ran out of the room.... but he was frozen in place. Pinned down by those eyes. "W-...What?" it was barely even a whisper. His voice refused to work, he could feel his eyes glazing over.. _Why am i crying? I'm not afraid of him am i?_ No. That's what worried him most. He wasn't afraid. If anything... it made him happy.

"Whoever hurt you... Just tell me who they are... where to find them.." His fingertips ran along the back of Akaashi's neck, sending shivers down the younger mans spine, hands and feet tingling. Akaashi let out a shaky breathe, his heart hammering in his chest, gulping to try and sooth his drying throat, his hands tightening around Bokuto's wrists. 

"...I can make them go away..."

The single tear that ran down his face was quickly wiped away by Bokuto's thumb. Would that really work? it all seems so simple. With just a few words Akaashi could get rid of all of his problems. But could he bring himself to ask that of someone. To agree to what Bokuto was offering? 

"I.." Akaashi moved his hands to Bokuto's chest, pushing him away gently "...I'm really tired Bokuto... I'd just really like to get to sleep..." He spoke softer than he's ever spoken before. Bokuto seemed to understand and let his hands drop from Akaashi's face, but not before he pressed a feather light kiss to Akaashi's cheek. 

Falling asleep that night was new to Akaashi. Hand in hand with the man who offered to get rid of his problems...

By killing them. 

Lulled to sleep by some semi-obnoxious snoring. He certainty had a lot to think about. 

**\---------**

_The dark night only lit by the flashing club lights, faulty street lights and idle phone screens. The laughing faces, the drunken stumbling, people at peace. But to him to air felt thick, cold, the type that chokes you when you try to breathe. Hurts you when you try to do what comes naturally._

_"This is stupid." The monotonous voice came through the earpiece after what felt like hours of silence._

_"I know." He spoke back, moving quickly passed the sight of the traffic camera, hood up to hide his features._

_"You're both going to get caught." The voice in his ear and his inner voices were both saying the same things. Merging into one voice of reason. He should have felt fear at the warning, stiffened, felt the urge to turn back. But nothing came. There was nothing to feel at that moment._

_**"I know...."** The pause that followed did nothing to comfort either of them. The pause that followed confirmed their fate. _

_"...I won't let them lead anything back to you... I can keep you and the others safe." He slowed his pace as he approached the building, the large pair of bolt-cutters in hand. The back entrance was easy enough to find, the maintenance room was even easier._

_"What about him?... What about you..." The voice that had never shown anything in the way of an emotion faltered slightly, just a little though. Only a little..._

 _A numb feeling overtook him, it didn't even feel like he was the one moving anymore. His brain on autopilot. He'd already decided what he had to do._

_"I can't just let him go Kenma... You know that..."_

_"Yeah.." his fate is sealed "...i know."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo's just trying to be a good dad ok.
> 
> and Just gonna preemptively answer some questions involving Bokuto's mental state... The answer is not good. He needs an adult.
> 
> This is the song they're dancing to if anyone cares to listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma5BGcO2n54
> 
> Also this wonderful thing happened because of the last chapter. really feeling the love :') http://shaerahaek.tumblr.com/post/140854325271/a-very-quick-sketch-for-this-little-gem-by-mirzy  
> i feel so blessed having such talented people reading my story :')


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